LAKE NONA, FL – For the seventh time in program history and for the fourth-straight season, the Barry Buccaneers men’s tennis team has captured the NCAA National Championship, taking down second-seeded Columbus State in the championship match.

Led by second-year coach, Thomas Hipp, the Buccaneers did not have a smooth path to the 2023 NCAA National Championship as Columbus State came out of the gates swinging, and held much of the momentum for a large majority of the match.

Beginning with doubles, Columbus State shined across all three lineup positions, winning 6-2 from the No. 3 position and 6-3 from the No. 2 position to give the Cougars an early advantage heading into singles play. As something that has plagued the Bucs over the season, Barry had accumulated three of their five losses on the season after dropping the doubles point so they knew they had work to do.

Riding the momentum from doubles, Columbus State struck first in singles from the No. 5 position as Armin Trklja won 6-3, 6-0 over David Rieme to put the Cougars up 2-0 over the three-time defending champions.

However, after weathering the storm, Barry started to gain traction across the remaining courts and quickly began their push for the championship.

Winning in straight sets on courts No. 3, No. 4, and No. 6, the match calculous was trending up for Barry as they took the 3-2 lead over Columbus State and now needed just one point from the remaining two courts to once again take home the title.

With both the No. 1 and No. 2 singles positions playing into third sets, it was Alejandro Palacios of Barry who delivered the clinch for the Bucs at the No. 2 position. After falling 1-6 in the first set, the senior from Madrid, Spain showed great fight, winning 7-5 in the second and 6-2 in the third to secure the championship.

The seven NCAA National Championships ties Barry for the second most by a program in NCAA history and puts them just one shy of Lander who won eight consecutive championships from 1993-2000.

For complete match results continue reading below:


Match Summary

Doubles:

  • #42 Perez/Schold (CSU) vs #10 Ibañez Gallego/Rodriguez (BARRY), 5-3 unfinished
  • #32 Cueto Ramos/Martinetti (CSU) def. Palacios/Giuliato (BARRY), 6-3
  • Sandrone/Steen (CSU) def. Rieme/Büttner, 6-2

Singles:

  • #32 Alejandro Ibañez Gallego (BARRY) vs #1 Santiago Perez (CSU), 3-6, 6-3, 4-4 unfinished
  • #27 Alejandro Palacios (BARRY) def. #33 Javier Cueto Ramos, 1-6, 7-5, 6-2
  • #56 Alessandro Giuliato (BARRY) def. Tommaso Schold (CSU), 7-5, 6-3
  • Arnau Rodriguez (BARRY) def. Pietro Martinetti (CSU), 7-5, 7-5
  • Armin Trklja (CSU) def. David Rieme (BARRY), 6-3, 6-0
  • Tim Büttner (BARRY) def. Andrea Sandrone (CSU), 6-2, 6-4
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