Reflections as the Pirates return home

As you can see above, all three Pirate teams made it back to Savannah safe and sound on Sunday. Which gives us time to reflect on just what a thrilling week it was for Armstrong State University Athletics out in Denver.

The 10th national championship for Armstrong State women's tennis was, historically, the closest since the 2005 title in which the Pirates ended BYU-Hawaii's record 130-match winning streak by a similar 5-3 score. Armstrong State has also now successfully defended its national title five separate times - 1995-1996, during the "three-peat" of 2008-2010, in 2012-13 and now 2014-15. A wise man once said that it's harder to stay at the top than getting to the top and the Pirates have been very successful staying at the top.

Armstrong State softball captivated the Regency Athletic Complex crowd with three straight elimination wins to advance to Friday's if-necessary game against Humboldt State. And they did it with a never-say-die attitude that stretched across all facets of the game. Pitching, defense and timely hitting all helped the Pirates make its deepest postseason run in school history. Also, Armstrong State has been to the DII Championships finals site three of the last four seasons. Only two other teams in Peach Belt history can say they've done that - Kennesaw State and North Georgia. Both of those programs have won DII national titles. The Pirates are close... and return 15 players for 2017 who were a part of the team that went to Denver this season, gaining valuable experience.

And finally, men's tennis. The Pirates have been achingly close the last three seasons to picking up a fourth national title, and Friday's loss to top-ranked Saint Leo was a tough one to take for many reasons beyond the court. But for three straight years, the Pirates have faced the top-ranked team in the nation in the semifinals, in matches which they clearly were not the favorites in, and fought to the very last point. The pride which they have shown in defeat is as impressive as any of the three titles Armstrong State has been fortunate enough to win. Nobody should question that. Nobody.

So the summer comes and these Pirates will head home or to other places to take a break from school and competition. For the seniors, the festival experience was especially bittersweet as they now face the prospect of either finishing school without being able to compete for the Pirates or heading out into the "real world" for their respective careers. For those who return to Armstrong State next season to once again don the Pirate uniform, this week showed them what it takes to reach the pinnacle of collegiate athletics - hoisting that trophy!