SAVANNAH, Ga. -- Fifth-ranked Armstrong Atlantic State University earned a share of its fifth consecutive Peach Belt Conference regular season title with a 9-0 win against No. 15 USC Aiken on Sunday.
The Pirates (14-6, 9-1 PBC) also won their 10th overall league regular season title with the victory against the Pacers, who wrap up the regular season with a 10-9 overall mark and a 2-8 mark in the Peach Belt. Armstrong won a share of the 2000, 2005 and 2006 and won outright titles in 2007-08 and 2010-13.
Armstrong will learn if it is the top seed in the upcoming Peach Belt Conference tournament when the bracket is released on Tuesday. the Pirates are the nine-time defending tournament champions.
Armstrong swept all three doubles matches to take a 3-0 lead heading into singles play. Jaan Kononov and Pedro Scocuglia defeated Alejandro Andino and Patrick Stiebinger, 8-3, at No. 1 doubles, while Ignacio Hernandez and Damian Okrutny beat Ettore Damini and Lucas Gobbi, 8-2, at No. 2 doubles. Luca Cerin and Pablo Gor finished off the doubles sweep with an 8-1 win over Andy Quirk and Ronan Reberac at No. 3 doubles.
The Pirates then won all six singles matches in straight sets. No. 10-ranked Scocuglia beat No. 26-ranked Damini, 6-2, 6-3, at No. 1 singles, while No. 25-ranked Kononov bested Andino, 6-0, 6-2, at No. 2 singles. Hernandez downed Quirk, 6-2, 6-3, at No. 3 singles while No. 13-ranked Gor defeated Gobbi, 6-0, 6-0, at No. 4 singles. Cerin knocked off Stiebinger, 6-2, 6-2, at No. 5 singles and Okrutny finished off the sweep with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Zahn at No. 6 singles.
