Box ScoreSURPRISE, Ariz. – Barry University men's tennis team got a firm test from Azusa Pacific in the NCAA Division II Championships Round of 16 at Surprise Tennis and Racquet Complex Wednesday, despite a 5-0 win.
"It was a really great experience, and I'm happy we won the first round pretty easily," Barry freshman
Dominik Haider said. "We had some troubles in some matches, but we came through pretty good."
Haider and
Kevin Sielmann beat Pascal Engel and Alan Leahy, 8-3, at No. 2 doubles for the Buccaneers' first point. Sielmann ripped off an ace and served for the win.
At No. 3 pairs, Barry's
Renato Lombardi and
Franco Echenique had a tough battle with Azusa's Ben Eger and Shepherd Newcomb before prevailing, 8-6. That gave Barry a 2-0 lead.
Barry's second-ranked
Fabian Groetsch and
Ahmed Triki led 5-2 at No. 1 doubles. But the Cougars ninth-ranked Jan Meyer and Gary Yam rallied back, knotting the match at 7-7. After Groetsch served for an 8-7 Bucs lead, the Cougars held serve to send the match to a tiebreaker. But Triki and Groetsch took control in the tiebreaker, hitting winners to race out to a 6-1 lead before putting Azusa's pair away, 9-8 (7-1).
"It was just one break we were up," Groetsch said. "Then we were struggling. We were serving, then we got the break, and we were holding it. We clinched it in the tiebreaker, so we were up 3-0."
Groetsch won his second straight NCAA Tournament singles match, beating Eger, 6-2, 7-5, at No. 2 singles to push the Bucs (23-0) within a point of clinching.
Haider sealed the deal with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Leahy at No. 5 singles.
"They were fighting all the time," Haider said. "On the court and off the court, you always heard them. Yeah, it was pretty tough."
In its first year competing in the NCAA Division II Championships, APU (20-5) won opening sets in four of the six singles matches before the Bucs clinched.
Barry moves on to play Cameron in Thursday's 12 p.m. EST quarterfinals.
"I think we have to think of round to round," Groetsch said.Â
On to the next one.Â
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