SAVANNAH, Ga. -- Armstrong Altantic notched a berth in its ninth consecutive NCAA Round of 16 with a 5-0 win against GRU Augusta on Monday afternoon in the NCAA Southeast Regional No. 1 final at Bacon Park.
The Pirates (18-6) advance to Altamonte Springs, Florida, on May 14-17 with an eye on returning to the NCAA Division II national championship match. Armstrong will take on East No. 2 Region winner NYIT on May 14 in first-round action at Sanlando Park. GRU Augusta finishes its season with a 19-7 record.
Armstrong swept all three doubles matches to take a 3-0 lead heading into singles play. The No. 7-ranked duo of Jaan Kononov and Pedro Scocuglia overcame an early 4-1 deficit to edge No. 16-ranked Victor Cabellos and Victor Guilaraes 8-6 at No. 1 doubles. Ignacio Hernandez and Damian Okrutny prevailed against Romain Brunie and Romain Ferreria 9-7 at No. 2 doubles, while Luca Cerin and Pablo Gor downed Arthur Andrade and Joao Frietas 8-2 at No. 3 doubles.
Cerin blanked Freitas 6-0, 6-0 at No. 5 singles to put the Pirates up 4-0, then Okrutny finished off the match with a 6-1, 6-3 win versus Gustav Anderson at No. 6 singles to send the Pirates to the Round of 16. Armstrong will join the women's team at the Round of 16 again for a ninth season in a row.
