Box Score

INTERVIEW

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Barry University is headed back to the NCAA Championship match.

The No. 2-ranked Buccaneers men's tennis team beat No. 8 Lander, 5-2, Friday in the NCAA Division II semifinals at Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex to earn a trip to Saturday's 2 p.m. EST title match against No. 1 Hawai'i Pacific. It will be Barry's eighth trip to the NCAA Championship, and the first since winning it all in 2013 in Surprise.

"It wasn't easy, but we made it," Barry's Ahmed Triki said. "Now with this win, it gives us a lot of confidence. We have one more match to play. This is it. We're there."

This victory came with a lot of grit and tension as Lander (19-4) pushed the Buccaneers (25-0) in every match, including four singles matches that were extended to a third set. 

Barry's No. 3 doubles team of Franco Echenique and Renato Lombardi gave the Bucs a little cushion after beating Samuel Poutignat and Benjamin Salle, 8-6, for a 2-1 lead. Lander's Marc Hofer and Thibaut Leoussoff rallied back to defeat Kevin Sielmann and Dominik Haider, 8-6, at No. 2 doubles to tie the match at 1-1. Barry's No. 2-ranked pair of Fabian Groetsch and Triki defeated third-ranked Adam Jonsson and Loic Minery, 8-5, at the No. 1 position for the first point.

"First of all, I'm just so happy to be through and to play in the finals in my last match for Barry," Groetsch said. "It's a finals, so I can not be happier. I think we're going to give everything tomorrow."

After third-ranked Triki delivered an efficient 6-4, 6-1 win over Hofer at No. 1 singles to put the Bucs ahead 3-1, Lander turned the tables. Jonsson defeated Haider 6-3, 6-3, at No. 5 to cut the gap to 3-2. All the other matches were headed to third-set tiebreakers.

Barry's Nico Dreer pulled out a second-set tiebreaker to force a third set at No. 3 singles against Minery, and went on for a remarkable comeback, winning 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-0, to give the Bucs a 4-2 lead. Dreer was down 4-2 in the second set. He won two of the next three games to draw within 5-4. Afters splitting the next two games with Minery, Dreer forced a tiebreaker by knotting the set at 6-all. He trailed 5-Love in the tiebreaker, and was forced into five match points, but fought his way through it to pull out an exciting comeback.

"It's a heck of a comeback," Barry coach George Samuel said. 

"He had his nerves back again, and then he played better," Groetsch added of his teammate. "I'm happy for him that he got through."

Fourth-ranked Groetsch trailed 5-2 in the second set, but forced a third set, winning a gritty tiebreaker to extend his match and keep Lander off the board. Sielmann forced a third set after dropping the second. Groetsch led 3-0 in the third set, and Sielmann was within a game, down 5-4.

"Everybody believed in me," Groetsch said. "Then I played (at) another level. I won my second set. I saw the other guys winning, so that kept me through."

Lombardi rallied back after dropping the first set, 6-4, winning the next two, 6-3, 6-2, to clinch the victory for Barry.

"I was a little tight at the beginning in the first set. It was tough," Lombardi said. "But then I managed to get back into the match in the second set. Then, thanks to the cheering of the guys who came back to support, it was easier -- the third. And it went well."