STATESBORO – Though Armstrong State Athletics dissolved in 2018, the Pirate tradition will live on in the Georgia Southern women's tennis team in the form of one athlete who has opted to return for a second senior season in 2021 due to the cancelation of the 2020 season as a result of COVID-19.
 
After the 2017-18 academic year, Georgia Southern and Armstrong State merged to form the new Georgia Southern University. Several Armstrong State athletes, coaches and administrators made the move to Statesboro in 2018 to join the Eagles. Among these athletes was freshman Paula Boixader. The Col-legi Pare Manyanet, Barcelona, native was coming off a spectacular debut season with a 16-8 singles, a 19-8 doubles record and first-team All-Peach Belt Conference singles recognition.
 
Though it has not been an easy road for Boixader, she will have one final season to leave her mark on the women's tennis program. Despite having a very successful career thus far, she has only been able to play one full year over the past four years without injury, rehabbing injury or a global pandemic.
 
In her first season with the Eagles, she posted a 9-7 singles record, a 12-4 doubles record and was named All-Sun Belt Second Team Doubles. In her second season, she finished with a 15-10 singles record, a 16-10 doubles record and was named ITA All-Academic. Her senior season was cut short after only 13 games due to the COVID-19 virus shutting down sports nationwide. In that time, she helped lead the Eagles to a 9-4 record including a 6-2 mark at home.
 
For a few months, it seemed to be the end of Boixader's collegiate career and any trace of an athlete who started out as a Pirate.
 
However, the NCAA Division I Council voted on March 30, 2020 to allow schools to provide spring-sport student-athletes an additional season of competition and an extension of their period of eligibility. Financial aid rules were adjusted to allow teams to carry more members on scholarship to account for incoming student-athletes and returning student-athletes who had been in their last year of eligibility who decide to stay.
 
This past week, Boixader announced her intentions to return to the program for one more season as the last Pirate among athletes at Georgia Southern.
 
Georgia Southern's spring sports rosters included 21 scholarship seniors, 14 of whom have committed to returning next season or are still making their decision. The total cost of the aid is expected to be around $140,000 and will come from fundraising and prudent cost-cutting in other areas. To donate to the Finish Strong Campaign, please visit: https://give.gseagles.com/campaign/ensure-our-eagles-finish-strong/c284459