SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Barry University women's tennis season came to a close Thursday in a 5-3 loss to defending champ Armstrong Atlantic in the NCAA Division II quarterfinals at Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex.
No. 1 Barry (27-1) beat No. 2 Armstrong (28-1) in the regular season, 5-4, ending the Pirates' 43-match win streak, but the luck of the draw wasn't on the Bucs' side in this one.
Trailing 3-1 into singles play, Barry's Linda Fritschken beat No. 13-ranked Barbara Krtickova, 6-0, 2-6, 6-2, at No. 3 singles to pull the Bucs within 3-2. Barry's Isabela Miro then delivered a 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 win over Natasa Vukovic at No. 6 singles after the Bucs dropped the No. 2 singles match to pull Barry within 4-3.
Trailing 5-1 in the third set, Barry's Karina Goia battled brilliantly in winning four straight games to draw even at 5-5, despite being assessed a carryover point penalty from another singles match. But Armstrong's No. 17 Marlen Hacke pulled out a 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 win in the No. 4 singles flight to wrap it up.
It marked the second straight year Barry fell to Armstrong in the NCAA Championships -- last year in the semifinals.
The Buccaneers lost at Nos. 1 and 2 doubles, but Goia and Miro handled their business in beating Clara Perez and Vukovic, 8-4, at No. 3 pairs.
Fritschken finished the season with a 20-1 record. She won 18 straight matches to close the season, and was 4-1 against nationally-ranked opponents.
Barry finished the season with its second straight undefeated regular season, a fourth straight Sunshine State Conference title, South Region championship and fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships. The Bucs have advanced to the site of the NCAA Finals 18 times in the program's history, including four in a row under coach Avi Kigel.
