ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. -- Two-time defending NCAA Division II national champion Armstrong Atlantic earned its 11th consecutive berth into the national semifinals with a 5-0 win against NYIT on Thursday morning at Sanlando Park.
The Pirates (27-1) advance to face Saint Leo, 5-2 winners against No. 12 California (Pa.), in the semifinals, at 9 a.m. ET Friday. NYIT sees its season come to a close in the quarterfinals -- the furthest the Bears have ever gone in the postseason -- with a 25-6 record.
Armstrong notched wins in all three doubles matches to take a commanding 3-0 lead heading into singles play. The duo of Aleksandra Filipovski and Barbora Krtickova defeated Alessia Rossetti and Justyna Krol 8-4 at No. 1 doubles, while the duo of Marlen Hacke and Olga Kalodzitsa downed Alexandra Borgenhoff and Sara Burinato 8-2 at No. 2 doubles. Carolina Prats-Millan and Clara Perez finished the doubles sweep with an 8-3 win against Gabriela Siembab and Claudia Sanchez Gonzalez at No. 3 doubles.The Pirates then notched two quick straight-set singles wins to clinch the semifinals berth. Filipovski downed Burinato 6-0, 6-2 at No. 1 singles, then Hacke defeated Krol 6-1, 6-1 at No. 3 singles.
The two-time defending champions have won five of the past six national championships while advancing to the semifinals in 2011 -- the last time the championship was in Altamonte Springs. The Pirates won national titles in Altamonte Springs in 2005 and '10.
