The Armstrong Atlantic women’s tennis team earned its second straight Division II national title with a decisive victory over Lynn on Saturday in Altamonte Springs, Florida.

The 2009 final featured the same teams as the previous year and produced the same result. The Lady Pirates defeated the Fighting Knights, 5-2, to claim their fifth overall national championship.

Junior Gabriella Kovacs clinched the title for Armstrong Atlantic with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win against Jessica Yanoff at No. 4 singles.

Armstrong Atlantic held an early 2-1 lead after doubles play. At No. 1 doubles, Martina Beckmann and Alida Muller-Wehlau cruised to an 8-2 win over Katerina Jiskrova and Eleonora Ianonozzi. Kovacs and Sona Novakova followed suit at No. 2 singles, topping Magdalena Ekert and Alisson Siaci, 8-5. At the No. 3 position, Tina Ronel and Kathleen Henry dropped the first set and recovered to force a title breaker in the second, but ultimately fell to Lynn’s Yanoff and Tessie Salame, 6-3, 9-8 (7-1).

Entering the singles portion of the match, the Lady Pirates needed just three points to capture the title, but dropped the first set in four of the six singles matches. Armstrong Atlantic’s Novakova defeated Jiskrova, 6-3, 6-3, while Muller-Wehlau beat Ekert to set up Kovacs’ win over Yanoff to secure the championship. The Lady Pirates had also pushed three other singles matches into third sets.

For Lynn, Salame posted a 6-1, 6-0 win over Alisa Kagukina at No. 6 singles.

Armstrong Atlantic and Lynn finished the season with identical 28-1 records. The Lady Pirates also won consecutive titles in 1995 and 1996. Lynn, a three-time national champion (1997, 1998 and 2001), was making its seventh championship match appearance.

First and second rounds

At Lynn – Flagler 5, Florida Tech 1; Barry 5, Rollins 4; Lynn 5, Flagler 0; Lynn 5, Barry 0. (Lynn advances.)

At Bloomsburg – Virginia St. 5, Elizabeth City St. 0; Slippery Rock 5, Kutztown 0; Bloomsburg 5, Virginia St. 0; Bloomsburg 5, Slippery Rock 3. (Bloomsburg advances.)

At BYU-Hawaii – BYU-Hawaii 5, Cal St. Stanislaus 0. (BYU-Hawaii advances.)

At Francis Marion – Erskine 5, Mount Olive 2; Columbus St. 5, Georgia College 0; Francis Marion 5, Erskine 0; Francis Marion 5, Columbus St. 4. (Francis Marion advances.)

At Bentley – Concordia (N.Y.) 5, Philadelphia U. 0; Southern N.H. 5, Bentley 4; Concordia (N.Y.) 5, Southern N.H. 0. [Concordia (N.Y.) advances.]

At Mesa St. – Neb.-Kearney 5, Metro St. 1; Neb.-Kearney 5, Mesa St. 3. (Neb.-Kearney advances.)

At Abilene Christian – Abilene Christian 5, Washburn 0; Tarleton St. 5, Incarnate Word 1; Abilene Christian 5, Tarleton St. 0. (Abilene Christian advances.)

At Drury – Drury 5, Northern Ky. 0; Rockhurst 5, Grand Valley St. 3; Drury 5, Rockhurst 1. (Drury advances.)

At St. Cloud St. – Mont. St.-Billings 5, Minn. St. Mankato 3; Mont. St.-Billings 5, St. Cloud St. 4. (Mont. St.-Billings advances.)

At UC San Diego – Hawaii Pacific 5, UC San Diego 3. (Hawaii Pacific advances.)

At Northwood (Mich.) – Northwood (Mich.) 5, Bellarmine 0; Wayne St. (Mich.) 5, Ashland 0; Northwood (Mich.) 5, Wayne St. (Mich.) 0. [Northwood (Mich.) advances.]

At Valdosta St. – Nova Southeastern 5, Tuskegee 0; West Fla. 5, Fla. Southern 0; Valdosta St. 5, Nova Southeastern 0; Valdosta St. 5, West Fla. 0. (Valdosta St. advances.)

At California (Pa.) – West Virginia St. 5, West Va. Wesleyan 0; Charleston (W.V.) 5, Shaw 0; California (Pa.) 5, West Virginia St. 0; California (Pa.) 5, Charleston (W.V.) 0. [California (Pa.) advances.]

At Stonehill – Stonehill 5, Merrimack 2; Queens (N.Y.) 5, St. Michael’s 0; Stonehill 5, Queens (N.Y.) 4. (Stonehill advances.)

At Armstrong Atlantic – Carson-Newman 5, Tusculum 1; Clayton St. 5, Augusta St. 1; Armstrong Atlantic 5, Carson-Newman 0; Armstrong Atlantic 5, Clayton St. 0. (Armstrong Atlantic advances.)

At St. Edward’s – St. Edward’s 5, Central Okla. 1; Northeastern St. 5, Northwest Mo. St. 0; St. Edward’s 5, Northeastern St. 1. (St. Edward’s advances.)

Round of 16

Lynn 5, Bloomsburg 0; BYU-Hawaii 5, Francis Marion 1; Concordia (N.Y.) 5, Neb.-Kearney 4; Abilene Christian 5, Drury 0; Hawaii Pacific 5, Mont. St.-Billings 0; Valdosta St. 5, Northwood (Mich.) 0; California (Pa.) 5, Stonehill 0; Armstrong Atlantic 5, St. Edward’s 1.

Quarterfinals

Lynn 5, BYU-Hawaii 3; Abilene Christian 5, Concordia (N.Y.) 0; Valdosta St. 5, Hawaii Pacific 2; Armstrong Atlantic 5, California (Pa.) 0.

Semifinals

Lynn 5, Abilene Christian 2; Armstrong Atlantic 5, Valdosta St. 1.

Championship

Armstrong Atlantic 5, Lynn 2.

Singles: No. 1 – Sona Novakova, Armstrong Atlantic, def. Katerina Jiskrova, Lynn, 6-3, 6-3; No. 2 – Alida Muller-Wehlau, Armstrong Atlantic, def. Magdalena Ekert, Lynn, 6-4, 6-0; No. 3 – Eleonora Iannozzi, Lynn, vs. Martina Beckmann, Armstrong Atlantic, 7-5, 4-6, 4-3 (did not finish); No. 4 – Gabriella Kovacs, Armstrong Atlantic, def. Jessica Yanoff, Lynn, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4; No. 5 – Alisson Siaci, Lynn, vs. Tina Ronel, Armstrong Atlantic, 6-4, 4-6, 1-2 (did not finish); No. 6 – Tessie Salame, Lynn, def. Alisa Kagukina, Armstrong Atlantic, 6-1, 6-0.

Doubles: No. 1 – Beckmann-Muller-Wehlau, Armstrong Atlantic, def. Jiskrova-Iannozzi, Lynn, 8-2; No. 2 – Kovacs-Novakova, Armstrong Atlantic, def. Ekert-Siaci, Lynn, 8-5; No. 3 – Salame-Yanoff, Lynn, def. Kathleen Henry-Ronel, Armstrong Atlantic, 9-8.