Sunshine State Conference

WOMEN'S GOLF UPDATE

Round One:  With the last eight NCAA Division II Women's Golf Championships belonging to SSC teams, it's perhaps no surprise to see Nova Southeastern and Rollins atop the leaderboard after one round of play. The Sharks carded an opening-round 292 to finish one stroke ahead of Rollins, which fired a 293.  NSU's Fredrika Hakansson is tied for first after notching a two-under 70.  Hakansson is knotted at the top of the individual leaderboard with Florida Southern's Heather Burgner, who is competing as an individual.  Joanna Coe was Rollins' top golfer in round one, posting a one-under 71 to tie for third. Rollins' Laura Fourdraine and Cristina Gugler are tied for sixth with a 73, while a trio of NSU golfers - Nicole Whitmore, Taylor Collins, and Sandra Changkija - are tied in eighth position with a score of 74.  Also competing individually, Barry's Johanna Soderstrom shot a four-over 76 to tie for 16th on day one.  Play will resume Wednesday with third-place Ferris State (296) just three strokes behind Rollins.  Live scoring is available at this link.

Round Two:  Midway through championship play, NSU extended its lead over Rollins to seven strokes.  The Sharks have a two-round score of 587, while Rollins' tally after two is 594.  The Tars softened the cushion separating them from third-place Ferris State (604), which saw its gap grow from three strokes to 10 after Wednesday's round.  The battle for the individual title is a tight one that features three SSC golfers in a logjam atop the leaderboard.  NSU's Taylor Collins, Rollins' Joanna Coe, and Florida Southern's Heather Burgner all sit knotted in first place with an even 144 after two rounds.  Additionally, Rollins' Cristina Gugler and NSU's Nicole Whitmore are tied at fourth with a three-over par 147 at the half-way point.  Barry's Johanna Soderstrom gained some ground, climbing into a tie for 11th with a two-round tally of 150.  Play resumes Thursday.

Round Three:  The stage is set for an all-SSC showdown in Friday's final round at the NCAA Division II Women's Golf Championship.  Rollins carded a third-round 293 to close a seven-stroke gap and tie Nova Southeastern with an 887 (+23) with one round remaining.  The next closest competitor, Grand Valley, sits 31 strokes behind the SSC rivals.  The battle for the individual title has also shaped up to be an all-SSC affair, with the top-five golfers occupying SSC rosters.  Rollins' Joanna Coe has resumed the top spot on the leaderboard, opening a six-stroke lead over Florida Southern's Heather Burgner.  After three, Coe boasts a four-under 212, while Burgner has tallied a two-over 218.  NSU's Taylor Collins is in third place with a 219, while Rollins' Cristina Gugler is fourth with a 220.  NSU's Nicole Whitmore sits in the fifth slot with a seven-over 223.  Barry's Johanna Soderstrom held steady in a tie for 11th with a total score of 228.

Final Round:  ROLLINS WINS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!  Nova Southeastern finishes second.  SSC places eight golfers in top 10, led by individual champion Joanna Coe from Rollins.  To read more, click here.

SOFTBALL UPDATE

St. Edward's 5, Barry 4:  The Buccaneers entered to top of the seventh down 4-0, but rallied for four runs to tie the contest.  Holli Davis began the rally with a single, and two batters later, Brittany Anderson drove her home with an RBI single up the middle.  Cristina DeTagle drove in two more runs with another single up the middle, cutting the Barry deficit to just one run.  Megan Young tied the score with single down the leftfield line, but the Buc rally ended there.  Unfortunately, the late-game heroics weren't quite enough, as St. Edward's responded with a run of its own in the bottom half of the seventh inning to escape with the 5-4 win.  Barry will play at 10 a.m. CST on Thursday against Francis Marion.

Francis Marion 1, Barry 0:  In a game that spanned the equavilent of two contests, Kat Beauvais delivered a game-winning single in the bottom of the 14th inning to give Francis Marion a 1-0 win over Barry, ending the Buccaneers' title hopes.  The pitchers' duel featured 13-and-a-half scoreless innings and some impressive defensive plays before the Patriots finally put a run on the board.  Barry concludes its impressive season with a 44-8 record. 

WOMEN'S TENNIS UPDATE

Barry 5, NW Missouri State 0:  The eighth-ranked Barry Buccaneers swept the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats 5-0 in the Round of 16.  Senior Helen Wisniewski closed out the match with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Lina Gomez at number four singles.  The Bucs won all three doubles over the 31st-ranked Bearcats. Ildiko Csordas and Caroline Stevens knocked off Carolina Amaral and Lisa Pendrak at number one 8-3. Wisniewski and Angie Werschel matched that score in beating Jordan Lipira and Veronica Castilla at number two. Olivia Lilien and Berit Peterson closed out the doubles sweep 8-4 over Kristina Vucenov and Gomez at number three.  In singles, the Bucs won the first set at all six singles. Lilien made short work of Pendrak at number six singles 6-1, 6-1 to make it 4-0 Barry setting up Wisniewski  to clinch the match.  BU will face No. 2 Armstrong Atlantic State at 9 am CST at Memorial Park on Thursday.

Lynn 5, Southwest Baptist 0: Posting its third consecutive shutout, Lynn blanked Southwest Baptist 5-0 in the Round of 16 on Wednesday.  The Fighting Knights advance to the quarterfinals on Thursday and face Francis Marion.  Lynn breezed through doubles play to take a 3-0 lead to start the match.  Alexandra Schunk and Victoria Weltz won 8-4 in the top position, Katerina Jiskrova and Magdalena Ekert posted an 8-2 win in the second spot and Alisson Siaci and Eleonora Iannozzi claimed an 8-1 decision in the third flight.  In a race for the first two singles points, Iannozzi finished first with a 6-0, 6-1 win in the sixth slot.  Ekert closed out the Blue and White's victory with a 6-1, 6-0 decision in the top position.  Unfinished matches included Weltz up 6-1, 5-0 in the top flight, Schunk leading 6-1, 4-1 in the second spot, Jiskrova even 5-5 in the third position and Siaci leading 6-3, 1-1 in the fourth slot.

Lynn 5, Francis Marion 0:  For the 12th time in 13 years of NCAA competition, Lynn reached the semifinals of the Division II Women's Tennis Championships with a 5-0 shutout victory over Francis Marion on Thursday morning.  The Fighting Knights advance to face the winner of the Valdosta State and Hawaii Pacific match. Lynn opened the match by dominating the top two doubles positions with identical 8-1 victories.  Katerina Jiskrova and Magdalena Ekert finished first in the second spot while Alexandra Schunk and Victoria Weltz close out their decision in the top spot moments later.  Still battling out the final doubles point in the third position, Alisson Siaci and Eleonora Iannozzi's match was postponed for over an hour at 6-6 because of rain.  Returning to the court under hot and humid conditions, the freshman tandem quickly put away the final two games for the 8-6 win.  With momentum fully in their corner, the Blue and White swiftly closed the door on the shutout.  Siaci, still hot from the doubles win, blanked her opponent 6-0, 6-0 in the fourth position while Ekert followed suit with a 6-2, 6-1 victory in the fifth slot.  Unfinished matches included Weltz leading 6-3, 2-0 in the top spot, Schunk up 6-1, 4-1 in the second position and Iannozzi on tap for victory at 6-1, 4-1 in the sixth slot.  Jiskrova trailed in the third flight after dropping her first set 6-4.

Armstrong Atlantic 5, Barry 1:  The eighth-ranked Barry Buccaneers fell to the second-ranked Armstrong Atlantic State Pirates 5-1 in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II Women’s Tennis Tournament on Thursday at Memorial Park.  The Pirates won the first two doubles.  Third-ranked Iuliia Stupak and Gabriella Kovacs defeated the 11th-ranked Buccaneer pair of Ildiko Csordas and Caroline Stevens 8-4 at number one. At number two, the Pirates’ Alida Muller-Wehlau and Martina Beckmann defeated Angie Werschel and Helen Wisniewski 8-2.  The Bucs’ Olivia Lilien and Berit Peterson salvaged a point with an 8-4 win at number three over Alisa Kagukina and Sofia Haggstrom.  In singles, the Pirates won the first set at five of six flights. Lilien, with a 6-3 win over Haggstrom, was the only Buccaneer to prevail.  Muller-Wehlau at number three, Gabriella Kovacs at number four and Beckmann at number five all secured wins for the Pirates.

National Semifinal - Lynn 5, Valdosta State 2:  Lynn earned its sixth appearance in the NCAA Division II Women's Tennis National Championship match and first since 2004 with a 5-2 victory over Valdosta State on Friday morning.  The Fighting Knights advance to face Armstrong Atlantic State on Saturday in the finals at 9 a.m.  The Knights have six national titles in program history and are 3-2 all-time in NCAA title matches.  Lynn opened the match with a clean sweep in doubles to take a 3-0 lead.  Alisson Siaci and Eleonora Iannozzi posted the first point with an 8-4 decision in the third position while Katerina Jiskrova and Magdalena Ekert won 8-5 in the second position.  The Knights closed out the hot start in the top position as seniors Alexandra Schunk and Victoria Weltz outlasted their opponents 9-7.  The Blazers gave the LU everything they had in singles play, claiming the opening sets in each of the top four flights.  Lynn's freshmen in the fifth and sixth spots responded in full, taking their first sets against VSU in return.  Finishing quickly to take a 4-0 lead, Ekert cruised to a 6-0, 6-2 victory in the fifth spot.  Valdosta State then answered with their lone two points as Jiskrova fell 6-2, 6-1 in the third slot and Weltz lost 6-4, 6-3 in the top position.  Looking to put the match away, Iannozzi held off her opponent in the sixth spot to claim a 6-3, 7-5 decision and propel the Blue and White to the title match.

National Championship Match - Armstrong Atlantic State 5, Lynn 2:  Third-ranked Lynn fell to No. 2 Armstrong Atlantic State 5-2 in the finals of the 2008 NCAA Division II Women's Tennis Championships on Saturday morning.  The Fighting Knights battled back from an early deficit but couldn't complete the comeback in an attempt for their seventh national title in program history. Lynn found itself on the wrong end of a 3-0 score after doubles.  Armstrong Atlantic's Johanna Dahlback and Alisa Kagukina topped Alisson Siaci and Eleonora Iannozzi 8-1 in the third position for the first point while 10th-ranked Martina Beckmann and Alida Muller-Wehlau defeated No. 17 Magdalena Ekert and Katerina Jiskrova 8-6 in a hard-fought match at the second spot.  The match of the tournament may have come at the top doubles position as the third-ranked Pirates duo of Gabriella Kovacs and Iuliia Stupak outlasted fourth-ranked Victoria Weltz and Alexandra Schunk 9-8 (8-6) in an hour-and-a-half match decided in a tiebreaker. Despite being down 3-0, the Blue and White battled back in singles at the bottom of the draw.  Iannozzi downed No.48 Kagukina 6-3, 6-1 in the sixth slot before second-ranked Stupak closed out a 6-0, 6-1 victory over No. 20 Weltz in the top flight to make the match 4-1 in the Pirates' favor. Ekert added another point in the fifth position with a 6-3, 6-3 decision over Beckmann to close the gap to 4-2.  Armstrong then closed out the championships as No. 19 Muller-Wehlau beat No. 24 Jiskrova 6-2, 6-1 in the third spot. Lynn ends the year 26-3, setting the mark for wins in a single season.  The Knights have won 20 or more matches 13 times in program history and in each of the past nine campaigns.

MEN'S TENNIS UPDATE

Barry 5, Washburn 1:  The Barry Buccaneers survived a doubles scare to beat the #27 Washburn Ichabods 5-1 to advance to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II Men’s Tennis National Tournament at Homer Ford Tennis Center on Wednesday.  Barry’s top doubles tandem, fifth-ranked Patrick Rittenauer and Ales Svigelj got upset 9-7 by 26th ranked Rutger Vliegenberg and Andrew Plum at number one doubles, giving the Ichabods (14-7) a 1-0 lead.  The bottom two flights both went to a tie-breaker, with the Bucs pulling them out in the end.  Andrew Sharnov and Roman Werschel prevailed 7-4 in the tie-breaker at number three doubles over Ryan Ward and Drew Hanson to even the match. Freshmen Emanuel Fraitzl and Jakub Fejfar came back from 4-3 down a service break to force the tie-breaker and went on to a 9-8 (7) win over Brad Johnston and Nathan Martin at number two.  Up 2-1 heading into the singles, the Bucs won first sets at five of the six flights to quickly regain the momentum. Svigelj, ranked 18th by the ITA, quickly set down Ward 6-2, 6-0 at number two singles and Fejfar followed with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Nate Hurd at number six to make it 4-1 in favor of the Bucs.  Fraitzl won his first set easily 6-2, but fell behind in the second set 3-0. He rallied to win six straight games to take the set 6-3 and clinch the match for Barry.  The Bucs will face Francis Marion on Thursday at 1 p.m. CST at Memorial Park.

Lynn 5, Southwest Baptist 1:  In the first step to defending its 2007 national title, Lynn outlasted a scrappy Southwest Baptist team 5-1 in the Round of 16.  The Fighting Knights advance to the quarterfinals on Thursday and face Armstrong Atlantic State. Forced to push the bottom of their lineup up because of the absence of Diego Rodriguez, the Blue and White had to play with unseasoned doubles teams at the second and third positions.  Lynn claimed two victories in doubles, winning at the top two flights to take a 2-1 lead.  Lorenzo Cava and Tomas Racak won 8-4 in the first slot while the new duo of Julien Carsuzaa and Alessandro Sarra won 8-3 at No. 2 doubles.  The tandem of Axel Joachim and Kyle Hall started strong in the third position but couldn't hold on in the 8-4 loss.  In singles, the Blue and White received their three points from a pair of solid veterans and one unlikely source.  Freshman walk-on Alex Zara earned the first point for LU with a 6-2, 6-3 decision in the sixth spot, playing because of the lineup shift.  Finished next was Racak in a 6-1, 6-4 victory at the third position while Cava held on to win 6-4, 7-6(3) in the top spot.  Unfinished matches included Carsuzaa down 6-2, 7-5, 2-3 in the second slot, Sarra down 5-7, 6-3, 3-4 in the fourth position and Joachim trailing 5-7, 6-2, 2-3 in the fifth spot.

Armstrong Atlantic 5, Lynn 3:  In a showdown between the nation's top-ranked team and the defending national champions, No. 1 Armstrong Atlantic State outlasted No. 6 Lynn 5-3 in a down-to-the-wire match in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II Men's Tennis Championships. A controversial ending capped a hard-fought match between the two squads.  With the Pirates up 4-3 and the final two matches with split sets, a game penalty was assessed against Lynn's Lorenzo Cava for arguing a vital scoring mistake which gave his opponent a 5-2 advantage.  Unable to dig his way out of the deficit, Cava fell 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 for Armstrong's match-winning point. Lynn opened the match down 2-1 after singles.  Julien Carsuzaa and Alessandro Sarra picked up the Fighting Knights' point with an 8-4 decision in the second position.  The Knights battled in the other two spots but couldn't take the advantage going into singles action.  Cava and Tomas Racak fell 8-5 in the top spot while Axel Joachim and Kyle Hall lost 8-4 in the third flight.  As singles play began, the Pirates pushed to a 3-1 lead as LU's Alex Zara fell 6-1, 6-0 in the sixth position.  Lynn battled back as the seasoned bulldogs Carsuzaa and Racak both claimed straight-set victories, winning 6-1, 6-3 and 7-6(7-4), 7-5 respectively in the second and third flights.  Armstrong Atlantic added its fourth point as Joachim couldn't complete a scrappy come-from-behind victory in a tiebreak and fell 6-4, 7-6(12-10).  Down 6-1 in the extra action, Joachim fended off 10 match-points in the tiebreaker before eventually losing.  The only unfinished match saw the freshman Sarra battle back from a one-set deficit in the fourth slot to a 5-7, 6-4, 5-3 score as the final point in Cava's contest was scored.

Barry 5, Francis Marion 4:  The fifth-ranked Barry Buccaneers survived a scare from #20 Francis Marion in the quarterfinals on Thursday, winning 5-4 behind top player Patrick Rittenauer’s three-set win.  Rittenauer pulled out a three-set 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 win over Franklyn Emmanuel at number one singles to lift the Bucs (21-4) to victory.  In doubles, the teams split the top two flights. The Patriots’ Dilshod Sharifi and Oshada Wijemanne won 8-4 at number one over Rittenauer and Ales Svigelj, while Barry’s Emanuel Fraitzl and Jakub Fejfar pulled out an 8-4 win at number two over Dananjaya Mayadunne and Emmanuel.  At the third flight, the set stayed on serve all the way to a tie-breaker where the Patriots’ Karl Rogers and Matthew Keth pulled out a 7-5 win to beat Andrew Sharnov and Roman Werschel 9-8.  Sharnov and Werschel quickly reversed the 2-1 deficit by winning at four and five singles. Sharnov handled Bastian Czwalinna 6-1, 6-0 at four, while Werschel beat Rogers 6-2, 6-3 at five. Fejfar made it 4-2 Barry with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Mayadunne at number six.  But Svigelj fell in straight sets to Wijemanne 6-3,
7-6 (4) at two and Fraitzl fell in two tiebreakers to Sharifi 7-6 (5), 7-6 (3) to even the match at 4-4.  The Bucs advance to the semifinals on Friday to face the winner of the Valdosta State/Drury match at 1:00 pm Central time.

National Semifinal - Barry 5, Drury 3:  The fifth-ranked Barry Buccaneers advanced to the national championship match with a 5-3 win over fourth-ranked Drury Panthers at Memorial Park on Friday.  Roman Werschel battled back from down a set to defeat Antonio Garcia 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 at number five singles to clinch the match for Barry.  The Buccaneers took a 2-1 lead after doubles, winning tiebreakers at number one and number two. At the top flight, fifth-ranked Patrick Rittenauer and Ales Svigelj stayed on serve with #18 Stefan Borg and Nikola Prpic, then pulled out a 9-7 victory in the tiebreaker. At number two, Jakub Fejfar and Emanuel Fraitzl were serving for the match at 7-6, but dropped two straight games to Federico Levi and Anton Khadasevich before rallying to force the tiebreaker, then won 8-6.  At three, the Bucs’ Andrew Sharnov and Werschel also had service for the match, but dropped three straight games to Nahom Serekeberhan and Florian Perche to fall 9-7.  Singles was a mixed affair, with both sides having their highlights. For the Bucs, #18 Svigelj worked over #37 Levi 6-3, 6-2 at number two and Sharnov redeemed a point at number four by pulling out a three-set 6-0, 1-6, 7-6 (5) win over Khadasevich to make it 4-1 Barry.  But the Panthers pulled out points at one and six, with #4 Borg beating #15 Rittenauer 7-6 (8), 6-4 at the top and Prpic taking down Fejfar 6-3, 7-6 (1) at the bottom to pulled to within 4-3.  The Buccaneers will now face #1-ranked Armstrong Atlantic for the title on Saturday in a rematch of a regular season battle that the Pirates won 5-4.  It is the third time the Buccaneer men have advanced to the championship match. They finished second to Lander in 1998 and 1999. Samuel also led the Barry win to the finals in 2003. It would be the Bucs' first tennis title.

National Championship Match - Armstrong Atlantic 5, Barry 0:  The fifth-ranked Barry Buccaneers fell 5-0 to the top-ranked Armstrong Atlantic State Pirates in the finals of the NCAA Division II Men’s Tennis National Tournament.  The Pirates took a 3-0 lead after doubles, winning quickly 8-3 at both one and two. At number three, the Bucs’ Andrew Sharnov and Roman Werschel were up 4-3 on serve, but fell behind 7-4. After getting a break to pull to 7-5, the match was delayed for 42 minutes due to rain. When play resumed, the Bucs quickly won their service game to make it 7-6, but the Pirates’ Paul Bishop and Davor Zink overcame four break points to take the set 8-6.  In singles, #6 Tim Johannsen defeated #15 Patrick Rittenauer 6-2, 6-3 at number one and #50 Christian Bergh closed out the match with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Werschel at number five.  The Buccaneers led up a set at number two, three and four singles, but none could finish.  The Bucs close the season at 22-5, finishing runner-up for the third time in school history. 

MEN'S GOLF UPDATE

Round One:  Clayton State fired a seven-under 273 to take the early lead at the DII Men's Golf Championship.  Florida Southern is tied for seventh after carding an opening-round 283.  Nova Southeastern is tied for ninth with a four-over par 284.  Jude Eustaquio continues to be a force individually, sitting atop the leaderboard with a seven-under 63, three strokes ahead of Grand Valley's Josh Orler and Clayton State's Will Wilcox, who each shot a round-one 66.  NSU has three golfers - Constantin Schwierz, Michael Moore, and Byron White - knotted in 19th with a 70.  Action resumes on Tuesday.  Live scoring is available at the following link.

Round Two:  Georgia College & State assumed the top spot on the team leaderboard, firing a second-round 272 to total a one-under par 559 at the midway point.  Nova Southeastern is tied for eighth with an 11-over 571.  Florida Southern's day two 290 dropped the Moccasins into 14th with a total score of 573 (+13).  Jude Eustaquio continues to make his push for the individual title, finishing day two tied for the top spot on the leaderboard with a three-under 137.  For NSU, Byron White is tied for 13th with an even-par 140.

Round Three:  West Florida became the third different team to occupy the top spot on the team leaderboard, closing day three with three-over par 843.  Nova Southeastern matched its second round score of 287 and is tied for sixth with a total tally of 858 (+18).  Florida Southern sits in 13th with a 22-over par 862.  Individually, Jude Eustaquio slipped to a tie for sixth, shooting a 73 on Friday to take his total score to an even-par 210.  West Florida's Kyle Scott, with whom Eustaquio battled for medalist honors in the regional championship, sits atop the leaderboard with a three-under 207.  NSU's Byron White is tied for 11th, but sits just two strokes behind Eustaquio with a 212.  Play concludes with 18 holes on Saturday.

Final Round:  The battle for the Division II Men's Golf Championship couldn't have ended in any more dramatic fashion than it did Saturday, with three teams - West Florida, North Alabama, and St. Edwards - all concluding four rounds deadlocked with a nine-over 1129 to force a three-team playoff to decide who would take home the national title.  The thrilling conclusion marked the first time that the NCAA team championship was decided in a playoff.  When the dust settled, West Florida won the playoff to claim the team title.  The battle for the individual championship also ended in dramatic fashion, as Florida Southern's Jude Eustaquio battled back from sixth place to tie with USC Aiken's Jeff Goff with a two-under 278 at the end of play.  The duo squared of in a playoff, and Goff gained the advantage to take home medalist honors.  Nova Southeastern finished fifth in the team standings, carding a final tally of 1137 (+17).  Greg O'Mahony was the Sharks' top golfer, finishing tied for 20th with a 285.  Florida Southern finished just behind NSU in sixth place, posting a 22-over 1142 for the tournament.