No. 11 Clayton State to play No. 7 Columbus State in Peach Belt Conference Women’s Tennis Tournament

MORROW, Ga. – April 19, 2012 – The pairings are set for the 2012 Peach Belt Conference Women's Tennis Tournament, and the Clayton State Lakers will hit the court first to start the tournament on Friday morning.

Clayton State will square off against Columbus State at 9 a.m. at Joe Cabri Tennis Center at the Jeff May Athletic Complex in Greenwood, S.C. Clayton State, which is ranked 11^th in the nation in Division II, enters the match 7-12 overall and 6-6 in the Peach Belt. Seventh-ranked Columbus State is on a roll at 23-1 overall and 11-1 in the Peach Belt.

There will be three matches beginning at 1 p.m. Top-seeded and No. 3-ranked Armstrong will battle the No. 8 seed Augusta State, while third-seeded Francis Marion battles the No.6 seed USC Aiken and fourth-seeded Flagler squares off against fifth-seeded Georgia College.

It is a single-elimination tournament with the semifinals set for Saturday and the championship on Sunday at the Cabri Tennis Center.

After advancing all the way to the NCAA Division II "Final Four" last season, the 2012 campaign has been frustrating for Clayton State and second-year head coach Le'Trone Mason. Ranked fifth in the nation during the preseason, Clayton State suffered two key season-ending injuries to top-seeded Ivana Krommelova and No. 2 seeded Hannah Keeling.

The Lakers are paced by senior Marie Cercelletti, who enters the tournament 13-5 overall this season in singles play.