ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. – The No. 3 University of North Georgia women's tennis team is one of eight teams remaining in the 2024 NCAA Division II Women's Tennis Championship after a 4-0 win over No. 33 Charleston yesterday. 

Today the Nighthawks will face No. 28 Academy of Art in the Elite Eight  at 4 p.m. from Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Fla. 

This will be UNG's first ever meeting with the Urban Knights, a program from the Pacific West Conference, representing the West Region in the NCAA Tournament. While Academy of Art has never faced the Nighthawks before, the two programs do share a common opponent this season. While UNG faced Hawaii Pacific and took down the Sharks in a 4-1 win back on Apr. 12, the Urban Knights have already faced the PacWest foe twice this year. 

Back on Mar. 10, Academy of Art lost a close match 3-4 to Hawaii Pacific, before getting the last laugh in the PacWest Tournament quarterfinals with a 4-2 win.

While the Urban Knights are 5-3 against opponents ranked inside the top-40 of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings this year, facing the No. 3 Nighthawks will serve as Academy of Art's second-highest ranked opponent in school history. 

UNG has earned that ranking after a program-best 24-1 season that included the team's first Peach Belt Conference Tournament Championship in program history. The program's historic season has continued on an individual level for a number of players as well. 

Three Nighthawks have reached 20 or more singles wins this season, placing senior Valentina Ascarrunz and juniors Ashley Moinard and Angelina Linnikova in the top-3 all-time of winningest singles season in UNG women's tennis history. Both Linnikova and Ascarrunz have 21 wins and are one win shy of tying the program singles record for most wins in a season. 

Ascarrunz has also paired up with her doubles partner, junior Carolina Reis, for one of the best doubles seasons in program history. At 22-3 and with a win Monday against No. 33 Charleston, Ascarrunz and Reis have tied the program record for doubles wins in a season.

The 11th-seeded Urban Knights are in the Elite Eight after taking down sixth-seeded No. 29 U Indy in the Sweet Sixteen. With the win, Academy of Art secured a program record ninth straight victory, marking its first ever appearance in the Elite Eight after the second tournament appearance in program history. 

The nine-match winning streak for the Urban Knights includes a win over No. 19 Azusa Pacific in the Pacific West Conference Championship. The 4-0 victory in the PacWest title match earned Academy of Art the top seed in the West Region of the tournament. 

The Urban Knights boast three All-PacWest honors, including First Team Singles player and PacWest Freshman of the Year Amelija Supulniece. With a 14-4 record in singles play this year, Supulniece has earned a No. 22 women's singles national ranking by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). 

Supulniece is joined by junior Erica Hellbe and sophomore Jessica Plazas who earned PacWest Second Team Doubles and Second Team Singles honors respectively. Plazas was also recently selected as the ITA West Region Player to Watch for the upcoming 2024-25 season. 

A win for the Nighthawks today will rewrite the record books, marking the Nighthawks' first ever appearance in the Final Four in program history. Should they advance, UNG will face the winner of seventh-seeded Wayne State and second-seeded Nova Southeastern.