Men's Tennis | 2/3/2015 11:21:00 AM
MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – Barry University men's tennis team opens the season Thursday at home against Gustavus Adolphus in a 3 p.m. start at Buccaneer Tennis Center.
The No. 3-ranked Buccaneers return six players from last year's NCAA Division II Final Four team that went 25-3. Senior
Fabian Groetsch and sophomore
Ahmed Triki were All-Americans, and sophomore
Nico Dreer, junior
Renato Lombardi and senior
Kevin Sielmann earned All-Sunshine State Conference honors.
Sophomores
Franco Echenique and
Austin Cruz have also spent time in the program. With the addition of
Dominik Haider,
Fabian Pronnet and
Ajdin Tahirovic, 24-year men's head coach George Samuel believes his team is ready to make another long postseason run.
The Buccaneers host Saint Thomas (Fla.) on Feb. 11 before hitting the road in back-to-back big weekends with matches at Embry-Riddle, a future Sunshine State Conference member, and versus perennial power Armstrong Atlantic in Winter Park, Florida. The following weekend, the Bucs will play three straight matches in Valdosta, Ga., against the likes of Valdosta State, whose program is on the rise again, West Florida, last year's NCAA champion, and Lander.
Barry begins SSC play at home versus Saint Leo on March 7, and will intersperse some quality non-conference matches throughout March and April. The SSC Championships are set for April 23-25 in Saint Leo, Fla. NCAA Regionals run May 3-6, and the NCAA Championships in Surprise, Ariz., is set for May 13-16.
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