Box ScoreMIAMI SHORES, Fla. – Barry University men's tennis got the ultimate Surprise.
The No. 2-seeded Buccaneers beat No. 4 Saint Leo, 5-1, Sunday in the South Region 1 championship at Buccaneer Tennis Center. In the process, Barry (22-0) punched its ticket to the NCAA Finals in Surprise, Ariz.
"It's a special place for me. We had our best season ever there (two years ago)," Bucs senior
Fabian Groetsch said. "I'm really happy to go back there."
Barry won its 12
th region championship, riding the momentum of dominant doubles play to set the tone.
Second-ranked Groetsch and
Ahmed Triki beat Bruno Sisti and Alex Theiler, 8-5, at No. 1 doubles. Groetsch served Barry to a 2-1 lead when Triki pounded a winner at the net right down the middle of the court. Saint Leo squared the match at 2-2, but Groetsch banged down a winner at the net, and the Lions couldn't return Triki's serve as the Bucs went up 3-2. Sisti's powerful serve tied it up at 3-3, but Groetsch held serve for a 4-3 Bucs lead. After the Lions evened the match again, Triki held serve, firing off an ace to put the Bucs ahead 5-4. Groetsch pounded a winner as Barry broke the Lions to take a two-game lead. Groetsch served Barry to a 7-4 lead before Saint Leo held serve to cut it to 7-5. Groetsch slammed a cross-court winner and Triki's serve wrapped up the game for Barry's first point.
Franco Echenique and
Renato Lombardi defeated Netanel Alcabas and Fons Verberne, 8-3, at No. 3 pairs. Echenique slammed a couple balls down for winners in the first two games as the Bucs jumped out to a 3-0 lead. Echenique served Barry to a 4-0 lead before the Lions held serve to cut it to 4-1. Lombardi served the Buccaneers to a 5-1 lead before Saint Leo answered back to cut it to 5-2. Saint Leo drew within 6-3, but the Bucs won the final two games as Echenique ripped a winner to put Barry ahead 2-0 in the match.
"In doubles, Renato and I came out really strong. We broke them the first game," Echenique said. "After that, we played well. We had good communication throughout the whole match, and then in singles I kept the same intensity. I was really focused on my game."
Echenique's 6-1, 6-0 win over Jacobo Gonzalez-Tarrio at No. 6 singles clinched the title.
At No. 2 doubles,
Kevin Sielmann and
Dominik Haider beat Guillaume Vanelven and Gonzalez-Tarrio, 8-3. The Lions won the first game before Sielmann and Haider took control. Sielmann hit a volley for a winner, and Haider served the Bucs to a 5-1 lead. Sielmann served the Bucs to a 6-2 lead. After the Lions held serve, Haider moved the Bucs within a point of clinching. Then he won a point at the net to clinch the match and sweep pairs for the Buccaneers.
Ranked fourth in the nation, Groetsch beat Alcabas, 6-4, 6-2, at No. 2 singles. Groetsch fired off an ace for a 5-4 lead in the first set. But Groetsch hit a winner down the line, and broke Alcabas to win the first set. Groetsch hit a baseline winner in the second set to go up three games to love. Groetsch was on cruise control until Alcabas won two games, facing elimination, to cut it to 5-2 in the second set. But Groetsch won the next game to cap his final match at Buccaneer Tennis Center with a victory.
"On one hand it's a really good feeling,"
Groetsch said of his his final match at home. "On the other hand, I'm also a little bit sad about my last competition match."
Lombardi won the first three games before Sisti battled back to draw within 4-3. After swapping the next two games, Lombardi closed out the first set. Egor Panyushkin beat
Nico Dreer, 6-1, 7-5, at No. 3 singles. Haider won the first set, 6-4, and trailed 4-3 in the second in his No. 4 singles with Vanelven. Third-ranked Triki dropped the first set to 13th-ranked Theiler, 6-4, before taking a 3-2 lead in the second.
"I think we work hard next week, and finish off our finals at school," Groetsch said. "Then we're really happy to fly to Surprise, Arizona."
