SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Barry University men's tennis team blanked Northwood, 5-0, in the Round of 16 at the NCAA Division II Championships at Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex Wednesday morning.
The No. 1 Buccaneers (26-0) advance to Thursday's 12 p.m. EST quarterfinals against No. 5 Hawai'i Pacific (20-3).
"We came out really strong in doubles," sophomore Kevin Sielmann said after clinching the victory for the Bucs with a straight-sets singles win. "Our opponents were a little bit down, so it was a little easier to beat them."
Sielmann defeated Konstantin Zhukov, 6-1, 6-2, at No. 6 singles for the deciding point to eliminate No. 32 Northwood (17-5). It marked Barry's second win over the Timberwolves this year, having beaten them in the regular season in Miami Shores.
"I was feeling really good," Sielmann said. "We woke up really early, but it didn't really affect us. I started really strong with my forehand and service. It was a smooth match. I feel really good being able to support my team with a point."
The Bucs led 3-0 after doubles play, despite a closely-contested No. 2 pairs match. Nineteenth-ranked Max Wimmer and Ollie Lemaitre overcame an early deficit during a sluggish match to beat Lorenzo Montegiorgi and Marcus Oliveira, 9-7, at the No. 2 spot. That completed the doubles sweep.
Barry's No. 2-ranked Marco Mokrzycki and Fabian Groetsch were 8-4 winners over Florian Boggia and Jean Menard at the No. 1 flight. Romain Costamagna and Leo Vivas cruised to an 8-2 win over Samual Walendowsky and Zhukov at No. 3 in the Buccaneers' first victory of the match.
Renato Lombardi delivered Barry's first singles victory, beating Victor Kasak, 6-0, 6-1, at No. 5. It was Lombardi's first collegiate postseason victory.
"Obviously, it feels really good to win today, but we are looking forward," Sielmann said. "Tomorrow we have an important match. We are only thinking about tomorrow."
