Men's Tennis | 1/20/2022 1:10:00 PM

MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -- After securing their second-straight NCAA Championship in 2021, the Barry Buccaneers enter this spring atop the Division II Men's ITA Preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll rankings, earning all eight first-place votes in the January 20.

The Buccaneers' first-year head coach Thomas Hipp has high expectations to meet this season as he looks to build on the success of former head coach, Dr. George Samuel. The Bucs return this year with three players ranked in singles led by Alejandro Ibañez Gallego, who won the ITA South Region singles title in the fall and the ITA Cup national title in 2019, ranked third.  Alejandro Palacios, who clinched the national championship match in 2021 (ninth), and Alessandro Giuliato, the 2021 SSC Player of the Year and ITA All-American in singles, who ranks 25th, join him. For doubles, the team of Ignasi Forcano and Giuliato currently rank 13th. Forcano and Martin Gutierrez, who ended the 2021 season ranked fifth, earned ITA All-America in doubles last year. 

Across the country, the South and Southeast regions stand out amongst the field, combining to have 14 schools in the Preseason Coaches Poll, including seven of the Top-10 teams. 

The Gulf South Conference leads all conferences with five teams in the Top-25, while the Pacific West Conference, Peach Belt Conference, and Sunshine State Conference all have four teams represented. The SSC, with Barry first and Saint Leo third, dominates the top of the poll.

*The ITA Top 25 Coaches Poll is voted on by the ITA National Ranking Committee. The National Ranking Committee is made up of the 8 ITA Region Chairs, with each chair casting an individual, secret ballot. 

Preseason Top 25 Coaches Poll

RANK	TEAM
1	Barry University (9)
2	Columbus State University
3	Saint Leo University
4	Univ. of Hawaii, Hilo
5	Valdosta State University
6	Univ. of West Florida
7	Univ. of Indianapolis
8	Lander University
9	Hawaii Pacific University
10	University of North Georgia
11	Delta State University
12	Azusa Pacific University
13	Lynn University
14	Auburn University Montgomery
15	Embry-Riddle (Fla.)
16	Northwest Missouri State
17	Concordia University (Irvine)
18	University of Texas at Tyler
19	Southwest Baptist University
20	Wingate University
21	Washburn University
22	Southern Arkansas University
23	Tusculum University
24	Drury University
25	University of West Alabama

 

ABOUT BARRYU MEN'S TENNIS

Barry has been one of the the top teams in NCAA Division II over the last 30+ years. The Bucs have advanced to the NCAA Tournament 26 times, including making the finals 12 times.Their seven runner-up finishes are an NCAA record, as are their 12 runs to the finals. They have won the national championship five times and counting, including the last two (2010, 2013, 2015, 2019, 2021). They have had 96 All-SSC players including SSC Players of the Year Alessandro Giuliato (2021), Ahmed Triki (2014, 2015, 2017), Marco Mokrzycki (2013), Thomas Hipp (2006), Sebastian Losavio (2005), Christian Witt & Christian Meyer (2000) and Herbert Bende (1997). The Buccaneers also had 58 ITA All-Americans players including Ibañez (2020), Giuliato (2020, 2021), Forcano (2021), and Gutierrez (2021) .