SURPRISE, Ariz. -- The Barry Buccaneers strolled into the national championship match with a 4-1 win over the third-ranked Broncos of Central Oklahoma at the 2021 NCAA Division II Women's Tennis Championship at the Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex on Thursday.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: #2 Barry 4, #3 Central Oklahoma 1
Records: Barry 14-0, Central Oklahoma 21-2
Series: Barry leads 1-0
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING:
SUMMARY:
Singles
- #2 Deniz Khazan (Barry) def Adel-Byanu Abidullina (UCO) 6-3, 6-1
- #7 Mae Canete (UCO) def #20 Jil Engelmann (Barry) 6-2, 6-3
- #26 Madeline Bosnjak (Barry) vs. Isabella Dunlap (UCO) 6-3, 4-3 unf
- Xiyao Wang (Barry) def. Paola Landin (UCO) 6-2, 6-3
- Julie Razafindranaly (Barry) vs. Blythe Buntrock (UCO) 6-1, 6-6, unf
- Daniela Farfan (Barry) vs. Nikki Boyar (UCO) 6-3, 6-1
Doubles
- #10 Deniz Khazan/Madeline Bosnjak (Barry) def. #2 Abidullina/Dunlap(UCO) 6-3
- Jil Engelmann/Julie Razafindranaly (Barry) def. #13 Canete/Landin (UCO) 6-3
- Kim Moosbacher/Daniela Farfan (Barry) vs. Boyar/Buntrock (UCO) 5-6, unf
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Bucs made a strong statement in doubles, as Barry won at the top two flights, beating higher ranked tandems.
- Tenth-ranked Khazan and Bosnjak beat second-ranked Abidullina and Dunlap 6-3 at number one.
- Engelmann and Razafindranaly bumped off the 13th-ranked pair of Canete and Landin 6-3 at number two.
- Daniela Farfan ran rough-shod over Boyar at number six singles, winning 6-3, 6-1.
- Xiyao Wang made almost equally short work of Landin at number four, winning 6-2, 6-3.
- The Broncos kept it from being a shutout as seventh-ranked Canete defeated 20th-ranked Engelmann 6-2, 6-3 at number two.
- But second-ranked Khazan responded with a 6-3, 6-1 win over fifth-ranked Abidullina at number one to close out the match.
- The Bucs won first sets at the other three matches as well, although they went unfinished.
NOTES
- The Bucs advance to the national finals for the fourth straight tournament. The last team to play in at least four straight finals was BYU-Hawai'i from 1999-2007. Armstrong Atlantic played for five straight titles from 1995-1999.
- Barry is trying to win its fourth straight title. SIU-Edwardsville is the only team to do so in Division II, from 1986-89.
- The Bucs face the UIndy Greyhounds, who defeated Columbus State 4-1 on Thursday.
- The Bucs dropped a point for the first time since beating #8 Saint Leo 6-1 on Apr. 2 in the regular season.
- It was the first time that the Bucs and Broncos had met on the courts.
ON THE HORIZON
The Bucs play in the national championship against the top-seed, UIndy, on Friday, May 21 at Noon Eastern.