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2017 WT SSC Tournament Champs
Jim McCurdy
Barry women's tennis team beat Lynn, 5-4, to win the SSC Tournament title Sunday.
4
Lynn LYNNW (20-2)
5
Winner Barry BARRY-WT (25-0)
Lynn LYNNW
(20-2)
4
Final
5
Barry BARRY-WT
(25-0)
Winner

Match Recap: Women's Tennis | | Jim McCurdy

Double Dose: Women's Tennis Crowned SSC Champs Again

No. 3 Barry beats No. 2 Lynn in league postseason tournament

BRADENTON, Fla. -- Sonja Larsen had been in this position just 19 days earlier. No worries, just win under pressure.

That's what the junior Barry University women's tennis player did to give the third-ranked Buccaneers a 5-4 win over No. 2 Lynn in the Sunshine State Conference Tournament Finals Sunday at IMG Academy. Larsen, the 16th-ranked singles player in the country, beat Martina Gledacheva, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, at No. 5 singles to clinch the title.

Larsen led 5-2 in the third set before Gledacheva rattled off three straight games to tie it at 5-all.

"At first I was thinking, 'Shoot,'" said Larsen, who kept a perfect singles record in tact, "but then I was, 'Okay, point for point.' She was playing better, and I was cramping at 5-2, but I got it."

It was the second time Barry beat Lynn to win an SSC championship this season, and both times it came down to Larsen's match to decide it.

 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: Barry 5, Lynn 4
Records: Barry 25-0, Lynn 20-2

SUMMARY:

  • Lynn led 2-1 after doubles, which were completed on Saturday before light rain and unplayable conditions postponed the start of singles until Sunday morning. 
  • Larsen and Ana Pain, the No. 18-ranked doubles team in the nation, beat Rosalie Willig and Stefanie Stemmer, 8-6, at the No. 1 position for Barry's lone pairs point. Pain and Larsen led 7-2 before the Fighting Knights reeled off four straight games to pull within 7-6. But the Bucs held on by winning the next game.
  • Zuza Maciejewska, the seventh-ranked player in the country, coasted past 14th-ranked Grace Mpassy, 6-1, 6-3, at No. 1 singles to tie the match at 2-2.
  • Lynn took a 3-2 lead after winning the No. 6 singles match.
  • Verena Schmid, the 13th-ranked player in the South Region, beat No. 6 nationally-ranked Diana Bogolii, 6-4, 6-4, at No. 3 singles to even things up at 3-3. It was the second time this season Schmid has beaten Bogolii. 
  • The Fighting Knights regained control after winning the No. 2 singles point in three sets. That gave Lynn a 4-3 lead.
  • Ana Pain recovered after dropping the first set to beat Stemmer, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, at No. 5 singles to tie the match at four points apiece. That set the stage for Larsen in the decisive match.

NOTEWORTHY:

  • Barry has won the SSC regular season and postseason tournament title three times, having done so in 2014 and 2015 as well.
  • The Buccaneers women's tennis program has captured 10 SSC Tournament championships, which is tied for the most in league history with Florida Southern and Lynn. Barry's 13 overall SSC championships is the most in the league.
  • Head coach Avi Kigel has won seven SSC Tournament titles.


WHAT THEY'RE SAYING:

"I'm very proud of how hard the girls fought today against a very good Lynn team. It feels great to be the SSC regular season and conference tournament champions, and it's a testament to their hard work on and off the court."
            -- Barry first-year assistant coach Steve Schram, who won his first postseason championship


ON THE HORIZON:

Barry will compete in the NCAA South Regional, likely at Buccaneer Tennis Center, May 1-2. An official announcement will come at 8 p.m. Tuesday on NCAA.com. 

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