The Tournament Has Begun !

Welcome to the first day of the 2011 NCAA Division II Tennis Championships at Sanlando Park. First-round action in four men's matches is underway - results of note, Valdosta State leads Queens (NY), 2-1, after doubles and fellow Peach Belt school Columbus State has a commanding 3-0 lead over undefeated UC San Diego after doubles.

The NCAA folks are diligently working to try and get the live video up and running - they have run into some technical difficulties this morning but are optimistic that they can get it up and going for our men's match today. The Armstrong/Barry match will follow the Valdosta State match on those courts.

Live stats are working, however - you can follow the men's live stats here and later today the women's live stats here.

Temperatures are supposed to reach into the mid-90s today and it is quite humid - a typical May at the Tennis Championships in Florida !

Barbora Krtickova Named ITA National Rookie of the Year

Armstrong Atlantic State University freshman Barbora Krtickova has been named the ITA's Division II Female Rookie of the Year, announced on Tuesday evening at the organization's annual awards banquet prior to the NCAA Division II Tennis Championships.

A native of Nove Mesto Nad Metuji, Czech Republic, Kritckova earns the highest honor that can be given to a first-year collegiate tennis player. The 2011 Peach Belt Freshman of the Year as well as the ITA Southeast Region Rookie of the Year, Krtickova is ranked No. 11 in singles and No. 5 in doubles as of the latest ITA DII rankings. In her first season as a Lady Pirate, Krtickova has compiled a 32-5 overall singles record, including a 21-2 mark in dual matches, while putting together a sparkling 44-6 overall doubles record, including a 23-4 mark in dual matches.

Together with senior Alida Muller-Wehlau - who was also named the ITA Southeast Region Senior of the Year - the pair captured the ITA "Super Bowl" doubles title and also captured the consolation doubles bracket of the ITA Indoor Championships in the fall as the only non-Division I players in the field.

Krtickova is the fifth Armstrong women's tennis player to earn ITA National Rookie of the Year honors, joining Sandra van der Aa (1995), Stephanie Kovacic (2000), Zsofi Golopencza (2001) and Sona Novakova (2009).

On the men's side, the Pirates had a pair of ITA regional winners as sophomore Matus Mydla was named the ITA Southeast Region Player to Watch and freshman Pedro Scocuglia was named the ITA Southeast Region Rookie of the Year.

The Pirates and Lady Pirates both open up action at the 2011 NCAA Division II Tennis Championships on Wednesday as the top-ranked Pirates play No. 5 Barry at 10:30 a.m. and the three-time defending champion Lady Pirates play Indiana (Pa.) at 1:30 p.m. at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Fla. The NCAA will have live video of both of the Pirates' first round matches here, beginning with the Barry match at 10:30 a.m.

Awards Tuesday

It's Tuesday, the day before the 2011 NCAA DII Tennis Championships begin in earnest and that means it's awards time. Tonight, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) will hold its annual awards banquet to honor the national award winners in several categories - Coach of the Year, Assistant Coach of the Year, Senior of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Player to Watch and the Arthur Ashe Sportsmanship Award.

Each of the eight regions names a winner on the men's and women's side and then the national awards are selected among the eight region winners.

The Pirates and Lady Pirates have several region winners, announced yesterday by the ITA, and tonight we'll see if they add national honors at the banquet. Armstrong's regional award winners for 2011 are:

Men's Southeast Region Player To Watch: Sophomore Matus Mydla

Men's Southeast Region Rookie of the Year: Freshman Pedro Scocuglia

Women's Southeast Region Coach of the Year: Simon Earnshaw

Women's Southeast Region Senior Player of the Year: Senior Alida Muller-Wehlau

Women's Southeast Region Rookie of the Year: Freshman Barbora Krtickova

Check back tonight as we report from the banquet with pictures and hopefully some national award winners !

Armstrong Coaches Corner with Simon Earnshaw

One of the things that the Armstrong athletic department has done in 2010-11 is a series of coaches' shows with the 10 Pirate head coaches.

Head tennis coach Simon Earnshaw recorded his latest Coaches' Corner on Friday to talk about the upcoming 2011 NCAA Division II Tennis Championships - you can view the show below.

You can also watch all of the Coaches' Corners from all the Pirate sports from this past year on the Armstrong Pirate youtube channel at http://www.youtube.com/aasupiratesports

Welcome to the Armstrong Tennis Blog for 2011 !

Back for a fourth straight year, the Armstrong Atlantic State University Tennis Blog returns to Altamonte Springs, Fla., and Sanlando Park for the 2011 NCAA Division II Tennis Championships !

After capturing the Southeast Regional in what seemed like a dual match format - both teams knocked off Peach Belt Conference foe Flagler on Tuesday, May 3 - the Pirates and Lady Pirates have a bit of a luxury, a break of nearly a week before they have to make their way down to Florida.

The teams will depart on Monday, May 9, and the Blog will be in full effect beginning Tuesday evening with the ITA Awards Banquet. The top-ranked and undefeated Armstrong men's tennis team begins action on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. with an "interesting" first-round matchup - defending national champion Barry University, the team that knocked the Pirates out of the 2010 National Championships.

Meanwhile, the three-time defending DII national champion Lady Pirates open up action on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m., taking on Atlantic Region foe and first-time opponent Indiana (Pa.).