Men's Tennis | 10/16/2019 7:55:00 PM
MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -- With four divisions of collegiate tennis converging on the Rome Tennis Center at Berry College in Rome, Georgia, to take part in the 2019 ITA Cup, Barry University has two men and a woman vying for the NCAA Division II single titles.
Alejandro Ibañez Gallego and Jil Engelmann won their respective regional draws to advance to the national finals. For the first time in the program's history, the field has expanded to 16 players with the addition of at-large bids in addition to the regional champs. Barry's Alessandro Giuliato is the first Buccaneer to earn an at-large bid to the championship.
In the men's draw, Ibañez Gallego comes in as the second seed and will face Angel Palacios of Midwestern State in the first round. Palacios is an at-large bid after falling in the finals of the Central Region. He ended last season as the second-seeded player in the country, while Ibañez Gallego was ranked 20th. Giuliato will play Tom Schmieta of Bluefield State. Schmieta ended last season ranked 10th in the Atlantic region, while Giuliato was ranked 24th nationally.
On the women's side, Englemann enters as the third seed after capturing the South Region title. She will face sophomore Erin Schlagenhauf or Flagler College. Schlagenhauf lost in the finals of the Southeast Region tournament but received an at-large bid. The 2019 Peach Belt Conference's Freshman of the Year, Schlagenhauf finished the year ranked No. 65 in NCAA Division II. Engelmann was ranked 39th last season.
Student-athletes will receive an opportunity to qualify for the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships, where they will compete in the same tournament as the nation's top Division I players.
Prior to 2017, only one singles player had earned that distinction, by winning the "ITA Cup", which pitted the four divisional winners against each other for the right to play in the fall season's final tournament. Now, each of the four divisional champions (Divisions II, III, NAIA and JUCO) will be automatically entered in the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships, which takes place at the Newport Beach Tennis Club & The Tennis Club at Newport Beach Country Club in Newport Beach, CA.Â
Men's and women's doubles will still take part and compete for the ITA Cup, with the winners of those draws moving on to the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships.
Formerly known as the Small College Nationals, the ITA Cup has history dating back to 1986, and it is the only singles and doubles national championship event for the Division II and NAIA levels. This year, more then 8,000 players will take part in a total of 60 regional tournaments to gain entry into the ITA Cup field.
Barry has had great success at the ITA Cup/Small College Nationals. Three Buccaneers have won the men's singles title: Herbert Bende (1995), Christian Witt (2000) and Emanuel Fraitzl (2010). Conny Grunes won the women's singles title in 2003.
