PBC YEARBOOK
Men’s Tennis
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PBC CHAMPIONS! Armstrong State Men’s Tennis Picks doubles point.
The Pirates won five of six first sets in singles play. No. 38-ranked
Up Hard-Fought 5-2 Win Over Columbus State For
Hernandez picked up the first singles point for Armstrong State with a
Tourney Title
FLORENCE, S.C. - The No. 3-ranked Armstrong State University men’s
tennis team picked up a hard-fought 5-2 win over No. 10 Columbus
State to win the 2016 Peach Belt Conference Tournament Championship on Sunday afternoon at the Dr. Eddie Floyd Florence Tennis Center
in Florence, S.C.
The tournament win is the 11th out of the last 12 seasons for
the Pirates (22-2), who also earn the automatic bid into the NCAA
Championships. Columbus State falls to 17-5 on the season.
The match played out quite differently than the regular season
matchup in which the Pirates won, 9-0, in Columbus in March.
Armstrong State won two of three singles matches to take a 2-1 lead
heading into singles play. PBC Tournament Doubles MVPs Jan Porteset
and Alberto Caceres Casas defeated No. 10-ranked Marco Almorin and
Maciej Kierkus, 8-3, at No. 1 doubles, while Otakar Lucak and Luca
Cerin defeated Jorge Vargas and Martynas Zakaitis, 8-2, at No. 3 doubles. CSU’s Zach Whaanga and KP Pannu upset No. 7-ranked Pablo Gor
Costales and Ignacio Hernandez, 9-7, at No. 2 doubles for the Cougars’
2015-16
6-2, 6-0 win over Whaanga at No. 4 singles, but CSU picked up a point at
No. 1 singles as No. 30-ranked Pannu upset No. 7 Gor, 6-2, 6-0, to make
the score 3-2.
At No. 5 singles, Porteset led Kierkus, 6-4, 6-5, serving at 30-all
when a volley from Porteset was called out by Kierkus. The chair umpire
overruled the call, making it 40-30 in favor of Porteset. The overrule
was the third in the set, resulting in a point penalty against Kierkus and
ended the match, 6-4, 7-5.
Less than a minute later, No. 22-ranked Lucak clinched the match
with a 6-1, 2-6, 6-2 win over Almorin at No. 2 singles.
Seven PBC Men’s Tennis Teams to Play in NCAA Championships
INDIANAPOLIS, IND – For the second year in a row, a conference-record
seven PBC men’s tennis teams have been invited to compete for the
NCAA national championship as the regional fields were announced on
Monday night. Armstrong State and Columbus State will serve as hosts
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