2015-16 PBC Yearbook | Page 63

PBC YEARBOOK Barbora Krtickova in 2012. She also joins Zsofia Golopencza (2003), Johanna Dahlback (2006) and Sona Novakova (2009) as other “Super Bowl” champions for Armstrong State. As a result, Cisneros will now advance to the ITA National Indoor Championships in Flushing, N.Y., on November 12-15. She will be the only non-Division I player in the field of 32 players. Earlier in the weekend, Cisneros claimed the DII singles championship. She defeated Siedliska, 0-6, 6-3, 7-5, to become Armstrong State’s eighth winner of the ITA’s DII singles title, joining Sandra Van der Aa (1994), Zsofia Golopencza (2001 & 2003), Iuliia Stupak (2008), Sona Novakova (2008 & 2009) and Alida Muller-Wehlau (2010). The Pirates also had a men’s singles championship match participant in senior Pablo Gor, but Gor fell to top-seeded Jan Meyer of Azusa Pacific, 7-6 (5), 6-2. Gor finishes as the DII singles runner-up and will begin the spring season as the No. 2-ranked singles player in the nation. Armstrong State University Receives Approval For $1.5 Million On-Campus Tennis Complex SAVANNAH, Ga. - The University System of Georgia Board of Regents approved the construction of a $1.5 million tennis complex for Armstrong State University at its Wednesday meeting, bringing the 12-time NCAA Division II National Champions back on campus to play home matches for the first time since 2009. The facility will be located along Compass Point Drive, across from the Windward Commons student housing building. It will feature 12 hard courts, seating and scoreboards and when completed, the courts will also be used for physical education classes, intramural and club sports in addition to being the home of the nine-time National Champion women’s tennis team and three-time National Champion men’s tennis team. Since the completion of the 2009 season, Armstrong State has been playing its home matches at the Bacon Park Tennis Center, a facility run by the City of Savannah about nine miles away from campus. Between the older campus facility and Bacon Park, the women’s tennis 2015-16 program has put together a string of 155 consecutive home wins, dating back to 2003, and now the Pirates will be able to try and continue that streak on campus. “Our National Champion tennis teams are finally coming home,” Armstrong State AD Lisa Sweany said. “This project has been a long time coming and I am ecstatic we have been given the green light to move forward. Our men’s and women’s tennis teams deserve the opportunity to play on campus in front of their fellow students and fans. “I want to thank the many people on campus that helped make this dream come true,” Sweany added. “President Dr. Linda Bleicken, Vice President of Business & Finance Chris Corrigan, Director of Facility Services Katie Twining and Vice President of Advancement Bill Kelso, to name just a few. It has certainly been a team effort and Armstrong State Athletics is fortunate and grateful to have such a strong team behind us.” Phase I of the project is being funded by donated and auxiliary funds. Concurrent with the construction of the courts, a Phase II fundraising campaign will begin, which will include locker rooms, a team room, coaches’ offices and public restrooms. “It’s become quite evident that Armstrong State University tennis has become, arguably, the most dominant college tennis program in NCAA Division II, if not all of collegiate tennis,” Armstrong State head coach Sean McCaffrey said. “With such a rich history and tradition, it only makes sense that Armstrong State tennis has what should be one of the most beautiful and exciting collegiate tennis venues built on campus. “Savannah and the Armstrong State University community has an undeniable passion for tennis and we are so excited to be able to showcase our wonderful student-athletes on campus,” McCaffrey said. “We look forward to welcoming fans, old and new, to what will prove to be a heck of a tennis experience at an amazing championship-level location.” Work on the project is expected to begin mid-September with a targeted completion date late Spring of 2016. 2 5 Y E A R S 61