Weathering The Storm

The No. 5-ranked Armstrong men's tennis team again had its match delayed by weather, starting six hours later than originally scheduled, but the Pirates eventually took the court and eventually took care of No. 21 Northwest Missouri State, 5-1, to make its third straight trip into the NCAA Semifinals.

The Pirate men and women are each into the semifinals for the third straight year as well, but Armstrong has plenty of company - three of the four semifinal teams hail from the same school as Hawaii Pacific's men's and women's tennis teams are into the semis, as are Barry's. Only Saint Leo's women and West Florida's men made the semis without their counterparts joining them.

West Florida is a familiar foe for the Armstrong men in the NCAA Tournament, but the roles are reversed this year. Usually the Pirates are the top-ranked team, or the favorites, but this year the Argos are clearly the favorites as West Florida is unbeaten and top-ranked. The two teams were scheduled to meet during the regular season but the horrible February weather cancelled that match (and many others) for the Pirates.

So tomorrow's schedule sees the Armstrong women facing Saint Leo at 9 a.m., with the showdown between the Armstrong men and West Florida taking place at 1 p.m. Weather looks majesterial for tomorrow and Saturday so we should have no more delays.

We'll be back a little bit later with video from the guys and their comments on tonight's match. Go Pirates !