BRADENTON, Fla. -- It took an effort like this for coach George Samuel to reaffirm what he's constructed.

"Doggone it, we've got some chemistry here," the Buccaneers 27-year men's tennis coach said.

We'll second that after the No. 2 Bucs beat No. 1 Saint Leo, 5-2, Saturday at IMG Academy to win the Sunshine State Conference Tournament for the 14th time under Samuel. 

Do the math: that's a title for just over half of the years he's been the boss of the men's tennis program. Not bad. And on this day in Central West Florida, Samuel's boys were on top of their game in beating a team that handed them one of their two season losses.

"It feels so good to win," junior Flavio Matteoli said after beating Willem van den Akker, 6-2, 6-4, at No. 6 singles to give the Bucs a 4-2 lead. "The last defeat against them was terrible. It feels good to show that we're still strong for the rest of the season."

Strong the Bucs will need to be as they move on to likely host an NCAA South Regional a week from Monday at Buccaneer Tennis Center. And that couldn't be any more comforting of a feeling.

"We needed this win," Matteoli said. "We needed to host."

Buccaneer Tennis Center is home. It's a place Barry is 10-0 this season. And that's where they'll be hitting balls in a matter of hours. Still, just being at home doesn't guarantee anything, and the Buccaneers know this.

"We have to keep working and keep fighting," junior Vivien Versier said after beating 37th-ranked Jaime Bueno, 6-4, 6-2, at No. 3 singles to clinch the championship. "We still have work to do."
 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: Barry 5, Saint Leo 2
Records: Barry (20-2), Saint Leo (21-1)
 

DOUBLES:

• After dropping the No. 1 doubles point, the Buccaneers squared the match at a point apiece when Pierre Montrieul and Blake Bayldon cruised to an 8-3 victory over Francisco Aparicio and Aurel Ciocanu at the No. 2 position.
• The Bucs took a 2-1 lead when Carlos Gomez and Versier outmatched Bueno and van den Akker, 8-6, at No. 3. 

SINGLES:

• Daniel Ventura, the 49th-ranked singles player in the country, extended the lead to 3-1 when he rolled past Aparicio, 6-0, 6-0, at No. 5 singles.
• No. 13-ranked Vincent Suillerot beat No. 14 Gomez, 6-1, 6-2, at No. 2 singles to cut the lead to 3-2.
• But Matteoli and Versier, the 68th-ranked player in the country, delivered with back-to-back points to secure the championship.
• It was enough to make Matteoli evaluate his own game over the past couple weeks -- a time in which he's won four of his last five matches, and the one he didn't win went unfinished with him up a set and close in the second.
• "The last two weeks, I'm playing good tennis. It's not great tennis, but it's good. I'm pretty happy about that."

NOTEWORTHY:

• Barry has won 17 SSC titles, which includes the regular season crowns.
• The Bucs' 14 SSC Tournament championships are four shy of Rollins' league-leading 18 postseason titles.
• The Buccaneers have won at least one of the SSC championships in every year but 2016, dating back to 2011. That's nine league titles in seven years.
• Versier is 3-0 against ranked opponents this season.
• Versier and Ventura each have 17 singles wins this year.
• Gomez and Versier have won 13 consecutive doubles matches.
• Barry has won 20 or more matches in a season 15 times under Samuel.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING:

"I'm pretty darn happy with what we've achieved. It feels really good. It wasn't expected. It was wished for, but it wasn't expected. I felt we were capable of beating anyone in this conference. These guys really had some energy. We had a lot of gas in the tank."
                -- Barry 27-year men's tennis coach George Samuel

ON THE HORIZON:

Barry will likely host an NCAA South Regional a week from Monday at Buccaneer Tennis Center.

BOX SCORE