ORLANDO, Fla. --  The third-ranked and fourth-seeded Barry University Buccaneers went unbeaten in singles play and secured a 4-1 win over 11th-ranked and fifth-seeded Wayne State University Warriors in quarterfinal round of the 2023 NCAA Division II Men's Tennis Championships at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: No. 3 Barry 4, No. 11 Wayne State 1
Records: Barry (23-5), Wayne State (23-10)
Series: Barry leads the series, 3-1, and won 5-2 as recently as March 23, 2023.

SUMMARY:

Doubles

1. #2 Cedric Drenth/Daniel Grey (WSU) def. #10 Alejandro Ibañez Gallego/Arnau Rodriguez (BU) 7-5
2. Alejandro Palacios/Alessandro Giuliato (BU) def. Niklas Karcz/Luke Laws (WSU) 6-3
3. Joe Kelt/Dom Spicer (WSU) def. Alessio Demichelis/Tim Büttner (BU) 7-6 (10-8)

Singles

1. #32 Alejandro Ibañez Gallego (BU) def. #24 Cedric Drenth (WSU) 6-2, 6-0
2. #27 Alejandro Palacios (BU) def. Daniel Grey (WSU) 6-4, 7-5
3. #56 Alessandro Giuliato (BU) def. Niklas Karcz (WSU) 6-4, 6-2
4. Arnau Rodriguez (BU) vs. #69 Dom Spicer (WSU) 4-6, 6-0, 4-1, unf.
5. Alessio Demichelis (BU) vs. Denali Kitayama (WSU) 6-3, 1-6, 5-2, unf.
6. Tim Büttner def. Joe Kelt (WSU) 4-6, 6-4, 6-0

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Alejandro Palacios and Alessandro Giuliato had an awkward finish to their match at second doubles, winning the the final point on a disputed net violation.
• Warriors clinched the doubles point with wins at first and third, the latter coming in a back-and-forth tiebreaker as both sides had multiple match point opportunities.
• Alejandro Ibañez Gallego got the Bucs on the board with his 6-2,6-0 win at first singles.
• Alessandro Giuliato followed with a straight-set win at third singles.
• Alejandro Palacios put the Bucs on the brink of victory with his win at second singles.
• The Buccaneers and Warriors were in third set action with the remaining singles matches at fourth through sixth.
• Tim Büttner clinched the team decision with his come-from-behind effort at sixth singles, running away with the third set.
• Alessio Demichelis was one point away from winning his match at fifth singles when Büttner clinched; Demichelis' opponent was serving love-40 and down 5-2 in games.

FROM THE HIPP (Quote from head coach Thomas Hipp):

"Today we played a tough quarter final vs Wayne State which was the NCAA National Final of last year so we knew we had to play well to advance. We didn't do as well as we wanted in the doubles, not taking advantage of leads and lost that point. However, the boys showed good morale and fought back in singles to win 4:1! That was impressive! I hope we keep up that mentality! On Sunday it will be a very tough match vs Valdosta who we lost to 3:4 earlier this season. So I hope we can turn it around and win it!"

NOTEWORTHY:

• Barry has won six national championships, including the last three in a row.
• The 2013 team was the first team in school history to post a perfect season (no losses or ties).
• Buccaneers defeated the Warriors for the 2022 national championship, 4-1, after winning the doubles point and then three of four completed singles matches.

ON THE HORIZON

Fourth-seeded Barry University advances to face top-seeded Valdosta State in a semifinal match on Sunday. The Blazers won, 4-3, in a meeting on their Georgia home courts in March.