Men's Tennis | 4/16/2020 12:53:00 PM

MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -- The Barry Buccaneers were held in high regard in the final national tennis rankings administered by the ITA since the spring season was cut short. The women claimed a unanimous No. 1 ranking, while the men finished at No. 2. Both Buccaneers teams came into 2020 as the defending national champions in their respective divisions.

The women finished the season undefeated with a record of 13-0 including a 4-0 mark in the Sunshine State Conference. The Bucs swept 11 out of their 13 opponents. The highlight of their season was when they captured the ITA Indoor National Championship in Edmond, Okla., beating Washburn, No. 5 Nova Southeastern and No. 8 Hawai'i Pacific in the process.

The Buccaneer women, under head coach Avi Kigel, have been the class of the division over the last four years. They won the national championship in each of 2017, 2018 and 2019, compiling a 97-2 mark over the last four years. They were vying to be the first school to win four straight national championships since SIU-Edwardsville (1986-89). Since 2011, they have won a school record five national titles.

The men posted a 6-1 record this year with the season being cut short before the Bucs could enter conference play. The Buccaneers only loss came in the ITA Indoor National Championship when they fell to Columbus State 4-0 though they did nab wins over No. 3 West Florida, No. 7 Flagler, and No. 5 Hawai'i Pacific.

Head caoch George Samuel has led the men to four national championships since 2010. In addition, the Bucs have finished runner-up seven times. Their 11 national championship match appearances are a Division II record.