Box Score
Box Score


MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -- Linda Fritschken clutched the ball, and it started to hit her. This was it at Buccaneer Tennis Center.

Fritschken authored a 6-1, 6-0 win over Anastasia Wagner at No. 4 singles in the last match she'll play in Miami Shores to help Barry University's second-seeded women's tennis team beat third-seeded Saint Leo, 5-0, Sunday to win the NCAA South Region 2 title.

"Actually, before I played the match I wasn't thinking about it," the 29th-ranked Fritschken said, thoughts of four years on these courts about to sink in. "When I had the match ball and I was returning, I was like, 'Oh wow, this is really the last ball I will ever play at Barry."

Fritschken made the most of it, winning in the final time she stepped on the courts in Miami Shores. Now she and her No. 2-ranked teammates booked a ticket to the NCAA Finals in Surprise, Ariz., May 13-16.

Sonja Larsen clinched the Buccaneers' 11th region championship as she held off Marine Beugre-Guyot's second set charge to win 6-1, 6-4 at No. 2 singles.

"It was a very nice moment, and it's exciting for me," the fourth-ranked Larsen said. "I'm really excited to go to Arizona. The girls talk a lot about it, and how nice of an experience it is there. I'm happy that we can go there now, and we will see how we do there."

Barry's fourth-ranked Emma Onila and Fritschken defeated Isabella Robbianni and Gabrielle Paul, 8-3, for the first point at the No. 2 doubles position., With Onila serving, Fritschken slammed home a point at the net to give the Bucs a 5-2 lead. Onila banged down a ball as Fritschken held serve to put the Buccaneers ahead 6-3. Fritschken swatted down winners at the net in the next game, and Onila fired off forehand winners from the baseline, and then served up ace to wrap it up.

Barry's Kimmy Twelker and Elisabeth Abanda beat Pauline Helgesson and Anastasia Wagner, 8-4, at No. 3 doubles. Saint Leo cut it to 5-3 before Twelker and Abanda won the next game to take a three-game lead. After both teams split the next two games, Twelker hit a winner to wrap up the match. That put the Bucs ahead 2-0.

Third-ranked Larsen and Ana Pain were 8-4 winners over Paula Montoya and Marine Beugre-Guyout at No. 1 doubles. Larsen ripped off two straight aces to tie the match at 3-3. The Bucs fought off deuce to take its first lead, 4-3, as Pain fired a shot right at the Lions. Then she ripped a winner from the baseline to hold serve for a 5-3 lead. Pain slammed down a ball at the net to break the Lions for a 6-3 lead. While serving, Larsen charged the net and put the ball away for a four-game lead. The Lions pair won the next game to pull within 7-4, but Larsen and Pain won their 22nd match to complete the doubles sweep.

Third-ranked Onila was a game away from winning her match at No. 3 singles, leading Montoya, 6-2, 5-5 when the Buccaneers secured the clinching fifth point. Twenty-second-ranked Abanda led 17th-ranked Robbiani, 7-5, 2-3, at No. 1 singles. Helgesson had a 7-5, 2-3 lead on 45th-ranked Pain at No. 5. Paul was up a set on Twelker, 7-5, 4-3, at No. 6. 

"It was a hard match, and we knew that from the beginning," Fritschken said. "But we played well, and we succeeded again."

This will mark Barry's second trip to Surprise in three years.

"It's nice because I don't have good memories from that year," Fritschken said. "So I hope now when we go there we will make some great history."