May 11, 2007

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. - For the first time in school history, West Florida will have the opportunity to play for a national championship. On Friday, fourth-ranked West Florida defeated third-ranked Lynn, 5-1, to move on to the NCAA Division II National Championship at Sanlando Park. The win avenged a 5-4 loss to Lynn in the regular season.

West Florida will face top-ranked and defending national champion BYU-Hawaii (31-0) in Saturday's national championship match at 1 p.m. EST. BYU-Hawaii returned to the finals after a 5-1 win over second-ranked Armstrong Atlantic in the semifinals. West Florida and BYU-Hawaii met once this season with Seasiders defeating the Argonauts 8-1. BYU-Hawaii has won the previous 15 matches against West Florida.

The Argonauts earned two points in the doubles action. The fourth-ranked doubles team of Tammy Kevey (Auckland, New Zealand) and Mandy Septoe (Port Elizabeth, South Africa) won 8-4 in the first position, giving the Argonauts the 1-0 lead. In the second position, the 15th ranked team of Suzana Cavalcante (Sao Paulo Brazil) and Paola Arevalo (Cali, Colombia) fell short in their match, tying the match and putting the pressure on the third doubles position. The third match was close, but Renata Mattos (Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Anne Claire Beard (Villevaude, France) broke their opponents serve with the score tied at seven, and served for the match, giving the Argonauts the 2-1 lead.

Following the doubles play, the Argonauts earned three more points in singles. Playing in the sixth position, Beard did not have much trouble in winning in straight sets. Septoe was leading the first set 5-2 in the third position, however had to go through a tie-break to win the first set. After the first set, Septoe claimed the second set win to give the Argonauts a 4-1 lead. Kevey, playing in the second position, stepped up and won in straight sets, giving the Argonauts the final point and securing a spot in the final.

"We came to this match knowing that Lynn was a tough team, but we never doubted that we could win it," said Kevey, who helped the Argonauts win two of their five points. "We all fought with our hearts and played our best tennis. It feels good to be in the final match, but our goal is to win the whole thing, and we are going for it."

Follow West Florida's quest for women's tennis first national championship and the fifth national championship in school history. "Live Stats" will be available on the women's tennis page of www.goargos.com.

(By Gui Amaral Jasmin)