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Franco Echenique sealed NCAA quarters win
Jim McCurdy
Franco Echenique sealed the NCAA quarterfinals win over Cameron Thursday.
0
Cameron CU (17-9)
5
Winner Barry BARRY-M (24-0)
Cameron CU
(17-9)
0
Final
5
Barry BARRY-M
(24-0)
Winner

Match Recap: Men's Tennis | | Jim McCurdy

Men's Tennis Blanks Cameron in NCAA Quarterfinals

Bucs advance to semifinals at noon Friday


Box Score

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Franco Echenique was licking his chops. Nico Dreer was in a hurry himself. Together, the two Barry University men's tennis players helped the Buccaneers race past Cameron, 5-0, in the NCAA quarterfinals Thursday at Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex.

Echenique's 6-4, 6-2 win over Justin Baciu at No. 6 singles clinched the match as he raced against his doubles partner Renato Lombardi, who was about to close out his No. 5 singles match to decide the match.

"I looked at Renato's score. He was up and serving," Echenique said. "I was running for every single ball. I wanted to finish first, and I did. It's bad for Renato. I'm sorry for him, but it doesn't matter who wins. As long as the team wins, it's the only thing that matters."

No. 2 Barry (24-0) won again indeed to advance to Friday's 12 p.m. EST semifinals match with No. 8 Lander (19-3). 

Dreer made quick work of Felipe Oyarzun, winning 6-1, 6-2 at No. 2 singles to give the Buccaneers a 4-0 lea after sweeping pairs play for the 19th time this season and fourth in a row. 

"For me, I really wanted to win, and I really wanted to finish today because yesterday was not my best match," Dreer said. "So I was even more motivated for today. So I told myself, 'Be strong, finish quickly and just get some confidence for the next round.' That's what I did."

Barry's second doubles unit of Kevin Sielmann and Dominik Haider set the stage with a dominating 8-1 win over Joao Fazendeiro and Dennis Merdan for the Bucs' first point. Barry's No. 2-ranked doubles team of Fabian Groetsch and Ahmed Triki beat Oyarzun and Andres Velasco, 8-4, at the No. 1 position. Echenique and Lombardi fought off a late surge by Cameron's No. 3 duo of Angelo Lencioni and Mateo Velasco to win 8-5.

"Personally, it wasn't my best day, honestly," Echenique said. "My serve was really bad, but we came through. It's nice when you don't play that well, and you still win. Renato played well. He served really good, and I'm happy that we won."

Fourth-ranked Groetsch was up a set at No. 1 singles. Sielmann also won his first set at No. 3 singles. Haider won the opening set at No. 2, and Lombardi was about to close out his match at No. 5 when Echenique put away the last ball to seal the sweep.

"We went out, we wanted to be strong today, and that's what happened," Dreer said. 

"We were 3-0 up after doubles, so for singles it's easier when you have the lead," Echenique said. "It was a really good day for us, and we are looking forward to play tomorrow."

 
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