KUTZTOWN, PA (May 11, 2010) – The Kutztown University men's tennis team departed the chilly confines of Berks County for the sunny and warm climate of central Florida early this morning. The Golden Bears are headed for a familiar destination, the NCAA Division II men's tennis Sweet 16 for the second straight season and seventh time in 11 years.

However, waiting for the Golden Bears will be the New York Yankees of Division II tennis in recent years. In the ultimate David vs. Goliath matchup, the Golden Bears (12-4) will meet two-time reigning national champion Armstrong-Atlantic (29-1) Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m. in Altamonte Springs' Salando Tennis Park. Fans can follow all of the action by viewing LIVE STATS.

“We will go out there and put out our best and all we have,” Kutztown coach Suresh Ramamurthi said.  “We have nothing to lose and everything to gain. We will play our hearts out till the end.  Every point earned will be cherished and remembered for rest of our lives.”

Ramamurthi does have a pleasant memory of playing against Armstrong-Atlantic. The Golden Bears defeated the Pirates, 5-4, in 2002. The Golden Bears are 16-11 overall in the NCAA tournament since making their first appearance in 1998. Kutztown will be looking for its first victory in program history in this round of the NCAA tournament. The Golden Bears have lost to Drury (2002), Southwest Baptist (2003), Ferris State (2004), BYU-Hawaii (2005), St. Edwards (2006) and Lynn (2009) in Sweet 16 matchups.

The second-ranked Pirates will head to Altamonte Springs with an eye on becoming just one of four schools to earn three consecutive DII men's tennis national championships (UC Irvine, SIU Edwardsville and Lander). AASU has now has advanced to six straight berths in the Round of 16 and over the last three seasons, the Pirates have won 90 of their last 92 matches.

The Golden Bears enter having won four straight matches after beating Mercyhurst 5-3 in the opening round and West Liberty University 5-2 in the second round to claim the Atlantic Region #2 title. Meanwhile, the Pirates have knocked off 24th-ranked Lees-McRae and 13th-ranked Francis Marion, both by 5-0 scores. AASU's only defeat this season was a 5-4 setback to Valdosta State on April 10.

“Our team has always enjoyed the tough competition against AASU,” Ramamurthi said. “They are true contenders and will be very tough. They have tremendous depth which, makes playing every point more fun.”

Armstrong-Atlantic swept the Peach Belt Conference postseason awards. Junior Mikk Irdoja was namd the PBC Player of the Year, while freshman Matus Mydla was named the PBC Freshman of the Year. Simon Earnshaw earned PBC Men's Tennis Coach of the Year. Irdoja, the sixth-ranked player in Division II, also was named to the PBC first-team singles and doubles squads, while junior Rafael Array also earned first-team singles and doubles honors. Sophomore Eudaldo Bonet was the third Pirate to earn first-team All-PBC singles honors.

Leading the Golden Bears into this matchup are senior Jonathan Goulet (Quebec, CANADA/), the PSAC Athlete of the Year and Cameron O'Donnell (Allentown/Parkland), the PSAC Freshman of the Year. Kutztown's No. 1 doubles tandem of Kaushik Das (Guwahati, INDIA/) and Arpit Sharma (Kolkata, INDIA/) were named to the all-PSAC doubles team, giving the Golden Bears four players on the all-conference team.

After posting a record of 22-10, playing mostly at No. 2 singles and No. 2 doubles, Goulet was named to the All-PSAC first team for the first time in his career. Goulet gives the Golden Bears a second consecutive athlete of the year after Lukas Labitsch won the award last season.

Meanwhile, O'Donnell stepped right into the Golden Bears lineup and made an immediate impact, specifically in No. 3 doubles with a 12-3 record. O'Donnell proved he had it on the courts with a 5-1 record at No. 6 singles.

Das was named to the all-PSAC singles first team in each of his first two seasons. Das has thrived with the high level of competition at the first singles spot, boasting a 15-4 record. He and teammate Sharma were named to the doubles first-team as well. Asok Murkerjee was named the PSAC tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

“We're excited for our next challenge,” Goulet said after Kutztown defeated West Liberty University. “No matter what happens, we know we had a good season. We will go to Florida and represent the school well. We're going to play hard and see what happens.”

--KU--