[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 134 (Thursday, October 20, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2142]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         RECOGNIZING THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF THE AASU TENNIS TEAM

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JACK KINGSTON

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 20, 2005

  Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I come forth today with the honor of 
recognizing Georgia's Armstrong Atlantic State University women's NCAA 
National Champion tennis team. The Armstrong Atlantic women's tennis 
team did an outstanding job capturing the school's third NCAA Division 
II National Championship in 2005, defeating BYU--Hawaii by a score of 
5-3 to win the title.
  The No. 2-ranked Lady Pirates ended BYU--Hawaii's NCAA record of 130-
match winning streak with the victory and finished a hard undefeated 
season of their own at 30-0.
  One of only 10 teams across every sport and division of the NCAA put 
together an undefeated campaign.
  AASU, who's other National Championships came in 1995 and 1996, 
accomplished the feat with unprecedented team depth as all six starters 
on the squad earned All-America honors from the Intercollegiate Tennis 
Association (ITA).
  Junior Luisa Cowper (Sutton Coldfield, England) finished the year as 
the No. 3-ranked singles player in the Nation and was named the Peach 
Belt Conference's Player of the Year.
  Sophomore Dziyana Nazaruk (Minsk, Belarus) was the No. 8-ranked 
singles player and was named the ITA's ``Player to Watch'' in 2005.
  Freshman Johanna Dahlback (Hasselby, Sweden) won the clinching match 
in the national championship victory and was the No. 9-ranked singles 
player in the Nation.
  Juniors Caroline Grage (Hamburg, Germany) and Manuela Emmrich 
(Magdeburg, Germany) teamed together to make up the No. 8-ranked 
doubles team in the Nation, while senior Laura Peaty (Loughborough, 
England) teamed with Cowper to make up the No. 3-ranked doubles team in 
the Nation.
  The man who provided guidance for the women's success is Head coach 
Simon Earnshaw. He was named the Peach Belt Conference Coach of the 
Year for his efforts in earning his first National Championship.
  I am very proud of this team for displaying such hard work and 
sportsmanship throughout the season and can only hope that they might 
bring the National Championship title back to Georgia in 2006.

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