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Barry men's tennis wins 2017 NCAA South Region Championship
Jim McCurdy
The Buccaneers won their 13th region championship Sunday at Buccaneer Tennis Center.
1
Valdosta State VSUMT (16-6)
5
Winner Barry BARRY-MT (23-1)
Valdosta State VSUMT
(16-6)
1
Final
5
Barry BARRY-MT
(23-1)
Winner

Match Recap: Men's Tennis | | Jim McCurdy

No. 2 Men's Tennis Extinguishes No. 5 Blazers in Region Finals

Barry advances to NCAA Championships

MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -- Fabian Pronnet has been waiting three years for this opportunity. Sunday, opportunity came knocking, and Pronnet and the Buccaneers delivered.

Barry University's second-ranked men's tennis team beat fifth-ranked Valdosta State, 5-1, in the NCAA Division II South Region Championship at Buccaneer Tennis Center. The Bucs avenged a 5-4 loss to the Blazers in last year's South Region Finals on the same courts, earning a trip to the NCAA Championships May 9-12 in Altamonte Springs, Florida, in the process.

"I think I can speak for all of us, the whole team was extremely motivated ... the seniors, Ahmed (Triki), Nico (Dreer) and me, because we lost last year in a heartbreaker against them," Pronnet said after giving Barry a 3-1 lead when he defeated Davis Stewart, 6-1, 7-5, at No. 3 singles. "All of us, we tried to prepare really well. We came out on the court, just with the goal to do what we practiced the past couple of months, and we succeeded.

"For me, it's a big one because my first year here I couldn't go because of health problems, and last year we didn't make it. I'm actually very glad we made it this year, and we're going to show up at the (national) tournament. I can speak for the whole team, we have a lot of freshmen, we have a lot of new players, we succeeded in integrating them into the team. They know their spot, they're playing well, and I think we're prepared for the tournament."                                  

INSIDE THE MATCHUP

Final: Barry 5, Valdosta State 1
Records: Barry 23-1, Valdosta St. 16-6
 

SUMMARY:

  • Barry's No. 2 doubles team of Carlos Gomez and Vivien Versier, the 25th-ranked pairs duo in the nation, gave the Buccaneers a critical point when they pulled out a 9-8 (7-3) victory over Jordi Mas and Fernando Rivas. That sent the Bucs into singles with a 2-1 lead. 
  • Gomez and Versier held serve to take a 4-3 lead before the Blazers pair won the next three games to go ahead, 6-4. But the Buccaneers responded by winning three straight games of their own to move back on top, 7-6. Mas and Rivas held serve to tie it before Versier and Gomez won the next game on their own serve to regain control, 8-7. The Blazers held serve to force the tiebreaker.
  • In the tiebreaker, Gomez and Versier ran out to a 4-1 lead before the Blazers cut the lead in half. But the Bucs' pair won the next two points to make it 6-2. After Mas and Rivas cut it to 6-3, Versier and Gomez sealed the deal on the following serve.
  • Second-ranked Ahmed Triki and Pierre Montrieul defeated Axel Holm and Eden Peleg, 8-5, at No. 1 doubles. Barry won the first three games before Valdosta State held serve. Triki and Montrieul held serve the rest of the match, as did the Blazers' duo, to trade points the rest of the way. Leading 7-5, Montrieul and Triki wrapped it up on their own serve.
  • Following Pronnet's singles victory, 47th-ranked Nico Dreer extended Barry's lead to 4-1 with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Rivas at No. 4 singles. 
  • With three singles matches nearing completion, the 26th-ranked Montrieul shut the door on Valdosta when he defeated the 40th-ranked Mas, 6-2, 7-6 (7-5), at the second position.
  • Versier led Peleg, 7-5, 5-4, at the No. 6 position, and 13th-ranked Gomez was leading Xavier Pineda, 6-1, 5-2, at No. 3 singles when the Bucs clinched.
  • Third-ranked Triki built a 6-3, 4-4 lead on No. 10 Leo Blay at No. 1 singles before the Bucs clinched. 

NOTEWORTHY:

  • Barry won its 13th NCAA South Region title, all under coach George Samuel. 
  • The Buccaneers will be making their 19th appearance to the site of the NCAA Finals, also under Samuel's guidance. 
  • Triki moved within one victory of tying Ollie LeMaitre for first on the school's all-time doubles victories list. Triki has 81 career pairs wins following Sunday's victory.
  • Triki's .862 career doubles winning percentage ranks first in school history.
  • Dreer moved into a tie for fourth place with Adnan Zaidi on the Bucs' all-time singles victories list with 63.   

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING:

"It's a really great feeling to win this title with the boys today."
            -- Pierre Montrieul, whose singles victory clinched the South Region Championship 

ON THE HORIZON:

Barry will play Northwest Missouri State at noon Tuesday, May 9 in the NCAA Championships Round of 16 at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Fla. 

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