West Florida came into the Division II Men's Tennis Championship with the top ranking, and the Argonauts proved they deserved the No. 1 seed with a decisive 5-0 victory over North Florida May 14 at Altamonte Springs, Florida.

The title is the second straight for the Argonauts, who defeated Valdosta State in last year's final.

All three doubles matches this year went to West Florida, including the Argonauts' No. 1 doubles team of Paulius Jurkenas and Mario Vergara, ranked third in the country by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, over North Florida's German Escallon and Leonardo Gomes.

Partners Diego Zorzi and German Dalmagro, and Jonas Mouly and Nicholas Barrientos completed the sweep in doubles over the opposing teams of Eduardo Perreira/Elad Gabay and Damien De Polignac/Jose Maria Terrera. DePolignac and Terrera forced a tiebreaker with Mouly and Barrientos, but were unable to come up with the win.

The sweep was in doubt when Zorzi, who also is the Argonauts' top singles player, could not play his singles match due to a tight hamstring. However, each player moved up a slot and West Florida took each matchup. Dalmagro defeated Gomes, 6-2 and 6-1, and Szmurlo topped Glen Marshall, 6-2, 6-2.

North Florida finished its last season in Division II with a roller-coaster season that led to the championship finals. The Ospreys will move to Division I next season. Last year, the team finished one match short of the championship, a finish bested by the 2005 edition.

"All the credit goes to the team," North Florida coach Tom Schrader said. "This team was hungry and everyone believed in themselves. It was important to us to leave Division II with class."

West Florida has a 22-7 record in NCAA tournament play dating back to 1997. North Florida has compiled a 21-10 record in tournament action since 1995.

The Argonauts finished the 2005 season with a 29-2 record, while the Ospreys were 23-7.

It was the first sweep in a championship match since Rollins defeated Hawaii Pacific, 5-0, in 2001.

First and second rounds

At Kutztown -- Kutztown 5, Millersville 0; Assumption 5, Mercy 2; Kutztown 5, Assumption 1 (Kutztown advances.)

At Southwest Baptist -- Colorado Mines 5, Truman 1; Southwest Baptist 5, Winona St. 0; Southwest Baptist 5, Colorado Mines 0 (Southwest Baptist advances.)

At S.C. Upstate -- S.C. Upstate 5, Augusta St. 0; North Fla. 5, Anderson (S.C.) 0; North Fla. 5, S.C. Upstate 1 (North Fla. advances.)

At Northwood -- Wayne St. (Mich.) 5, Mercyhurst 4; Northwood 5, Indianapolis 0; Northwood 5, Wayne St. (Mich.) 1 (Northwood advances.)

At Valdosta St. -- Ouachita Baptist 5, North Ala. 1; Valdosta St. 5, Harding 0; Ouachita Baptist 5, Valdosta St. 4 (Ouachita Baptist advances.)

At Barry -- Barry 5, Tusculum 0; Fla. Gulf Coast 5, Eckerd 1; Barry 5, Fla. Gulf Coast 3 (Barry advances.)

At Abilene Christian -- Midwestern St. 5, Cameron 0; Abilene Christian 5, Rockhurst 1; Midwestern St. 5, Abilene Christian 4 (Midwestern St. advances.)

At Concordia (N.Y.) -- Concordia (N.Y.) 5, Dowling 4; Queens (N.Y.) 5, Bloomsburg 3; Concordia (N.Y.) 5, Queens (N.Y.) 0 [Concordia (N.Y.) advances.]

At UC San Diego --- UC San Diego 5, Hawaii-Hilo 1 (UC San Diego advances).

At Armstrong Atlantic -- GC&SU 5, Francis Marion 3; Armstrong Atlantic 7, Shaw 0; Armstrong Atlantic 5, GC&SU 0 (Armstrong Atlantic advances.)

At St. Cloud St. -- St. Cloud St. 5, UC-Colo. Spgs. 2; Neb.-Kearney 5, Colorado St.-Pueblo 0; Neb.-Kearney 5, St. Cloud St. 2 (Neb.-Kearney advances.)

At West Fla. -- West Fla. 5, Tuskegee 0; Lincoln Memorial 5, Delta St. 0; West Fla. 5, Lincoln Memorial 0 (West Fla. advances.)

At Ferris St. -- Ferris St. 5, Grand Valley St. 0; Southern Ind. 5, Shepherd 0; Ferris St. 5, Southern Ind. 4 (Ferris St. advances.)

At Drury -- Drury 5, East Central 0; St. Edward's 5, Incarnate Word, 1; Drury 5, St. Edward's 1 (Drury advances.)

At Lynn -- Fla. Southern 5, Rollins 4; Lynn 5, Presbyterian 1; Lynn 5, Fla. Southern 2 (Lynn advances.)

Round of 16

BYU-Hawaii def. Kutztown, 5-0; North Fla. def. Southwest Baptist, 5-1; Ouachita Baptist def. Northwood, 5-2; Barry def. Midwestern St., 5-2; UC San Diego def. Concordia (N.Y.), 5-0; Armstrong Atlantic def. Neb.-Kearney, 5-0; West Fla. def. Ferris St., 5-1; Drury def. Lynn, 5-0.

Quarterfinals

North Fla. def. BYU-Hawaii, 5-1; Ouachita Baptist def. Barry, 5-3; Armstrong Atlantic def. UC San Diego, 5-3; West Fla. def. Drury, 5-4.

Semifinals

North Fla. def. Ouachita Baptist, 5-2; West Fla. def. Armstrong Atlantic, 5-1.

Championship

West Fla. 5, North Fla. 0.

Doubles: No. 1 -- Paulius Jurkenas-Mario Vergara, West Fla., def. German Escallon-Leonardo Gomes, North Fla., 8-3; No. 2 -- Diego Zorzi-German Dalmagro, West Fla., def. Eduardo Pereira-Elad Gabay, North Fla., 8-4; No. 3 -- Jonas Mouly-Nicolas Barrientos, West Fla., def. Damien De Polignac-Jose Maria Terrera, North Fla., 9-8.

Singles: No. 1 -- Jurkenas, West Fla., def. Pereira, North Fla., 6-4, 5-5; No. 2 -- Mouly, West Fla., def. Maria Terrera, North Fla., 6-4, 2-0; No. 3 -- Vergara, West Fla., def. Escallon, North Fla., 6-2, 5-2; No. 4 -- Dalmagro, West Fla., def. Gomes, North Fla., 6-2, 6-1; No. 5 -- Barrientos, West Fla., def. Gabay, North Fla., 4-6, 3-4; No. 6 -- Karol Szmurlo, West Fla., def. Glen Marshall, North Fla., 6-3, 6-2.