FLORENCE, SC – Sophomore Jitka Gavdunova rallied from a set down to win the deciding singles match at No.3 and give seventh-ranked Francis Marion University a 5-4 win over eighth-ranked Columbus State University, Saturday afternoon (May 9) in the championship match of the NCAA Division II Women's Tennis Southeast Regional in Florence, S.C.

Francis Marion improves to 20-4, its second straight 20-win season and third in the last four years, and advances to the Division II National Finals (Sweet Sixteen) in Altamonte Springs, Fla., May 13-16. The Patriots will face top-ranked and unbeaten BYU-Hawaii (26-0), winners of the West Region, in Wednesday's opening round.

This will be the squad's second consecutive trip to the national finals. Last year, the Patriots advanced to the national quarterfinals where they lost to the eventually national runner-up.

Columbus State finishes its season with a 21-4 mark, with two of the losses coming at the hands of the Patriots in post-season play – Peach Belt Conference Tournament and NCAA Tournament.

In doubles play, Francis Marion took a quick 1-0 lead when the 13th-ranked doubles team of Tereza Sykorova and Sabina Baberadova won 8-0 at the No.2 spot over the nation's 19th-ranked doubles team. That advantage grew to 2-0 when the sixth-ranked duo of Gavdunova and Kristyna Horakova outlasted the 11th-ranked pair of Eva Petschnig and Lindsey Groenewald 8-6 at the No.1 position.

At the third doubles spot, FMU's Valeska Ibscher and Saskia Ludwig trailed 5-3 to CSU's Erin Reynolds and Daniela Castillo, but rallied to take an 8-7 lead. Reynolds and Castillo fought off four match points and eventually gained the Cougars first point with a 9-8 win (9-7 in the tiebreaker).

Both teams traded a pair of fairly easy wins in singles play – FMU winning in straight sets at No.5 and No.2 and CSU winning in straight sets at No.4 and No.1 – to give FMU a 4-3 match lead.

Columbus State's Reynolds then claimed a 6-4, 7-5 win over Ludwig at No.6 singles to even the match at 4-4.

All eyes then turned to the No.3 singles match between the 29th-ranked Gavdunova and 37th-ranked Hanane Toumi. Toumi won the opening set 6-4, but Gavdunova held off a late rally by Toumi to win the second set 6-4. Both players held serve until Gavdunova broke Toumi in the sixth game and she went on to win the final four games to capture the decisive third set 6-2. The match took over two hours on a hot and windy afternoon.

Gavdunova ups her season record to 21-1 and avenges her only loss of the year, a three-set loss to Toumi on March 18 in Florence.

“I am very proud of this squad,” said FMU head coach Garth Thomson. “That is about as hard a way to win a match as possible – going to the third set of the final singles match, and to come from behind. Jitka played with so much heart and desire, and she had the willingness to get that final result.

“It will be an honor to again represent Francis Marion, the city of Florence, and the state of South Carolina in the national finals.”

When asked about the key third doubles match, Thomson explained, “We were trying to steal that point because CSU had won that match in the two previous meetings. That gave Columbus State a glimmer of hope and they took advantage of the opportunity and pushed us to the brink. I have much respect for the way they played today.”

The victory pushes Thomson's career coaching record to 217-148 in 17 seasons that have included nine NCAA Tournament berths. Thomson is a former Patriot tennis player and a Francis Marion graduate.


Women's Tennis Match Results
NCAA Division II Southeast Regional #2 Final
May 08, 2009 at Florence, SC

#7 Francis Marion University 5, #8 Columbus State 4

Singles competition
1. #5 Eva Petschnig (CSU) def. #18 Tereza Sykorova (FMU) 6-2, 6-2
2. #24 Kristyna Horakova (FMU) def. #32 Roxana Dondera (CSU) 6-1, 6-1
3. #29 Jitka Gavdunova (FMU) def. #37 Hanane Toumi (CSU) 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
4. Daniela Castillo (CSU) def. Valeska Ibscher (FMU) 6-1, 6-1
5. Sabina Baberadova (FMU) def. Lindsey Groenewald (CSU) 6-1, 6-1
6. Erin Reynolds (CSU) def. Saskia Ludwig (FMU) 6-4, 7-5
Doubles competition
1. #6 Jitka Gavdunova/Kristyna Horakova (FMU) def. #11 Eva Petschnig/Lindsey Groenewald (CSU) 8-6
2. #13 Tereza Sykorova/Sabina Baberadova (FMU) def. #19 Hanane Toumi/Roxana Dondera (CSU) 8-0
3. Erin Reynolds/Daniela Castillo (CSU) def. Valeska Ibscher/Saskia Ludwig (FMU) 9-8 (9-7)

Match Notes:
Columbus State 21-4; National ranking #8; Regional ranking #3
Francis Marion University 20-4; National ranking #7; Regional ranking #2
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (4,5,1,2,6,3)
NCAA II Southeast Regional (#2) Championship match
FMU advances to NCAA II National Finals (Sweet 16) in Florida, May 13-16
Official: Y. Farrar, K Edwards T-4:37 A-50

         Gavdunova