Men's Tennis Rallies To Win Regional Final Over Knights

BOCA RATON, Fla.—The Barry Buccaneers rallied from 4-2 down to knock off the second-seeded Lynn Fighting Knights 5-4 and advance to the final field of the 2011 NCAA Division II Tennis Championships.

Marco Mokrzycki completed the rally, coming back from a first-set loss to Alessandro Sarra for a 5-7, 7-5, 6-4 win at number three singles.

The Knights (18-5) grabbed a 2-1 edge in doubles, winning at the top two flights. They nearly pulled off the sweep, but Barry’s Ollie Lemaitre and Sergio Velez pulled out the third doubles point for the Bucs (19-7) in a tie-breaker 9-8 (2) over Benji Kendall and Alex Voirin.

Lynn made an early statement in singles by taking first sets at five of the six flights. The one exception, Velez, knotted the match at 2-2 by steam-rolling Luca Pavanelli 6-3, 6-2 at number four singles. But the Knights made another run to go up 4-2 as #13 Willi Wolfer beat #6 Emanuel Fraitzl 7-6 (5), 6-2 at number one and #14 Vlad Cirla swept #26 Max Wimmer 6-2, 6-4 at number two.

Romain Costamagna started the come-back at number six. After dropping the first set to Kendall, Costamagna bounced back to win 2-6, 6-0, 7-5.

At number five, Lemaitre, who led 5-1 in the first set before falling, righted the ship to beat Alex Voirin 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-2, leaving it all up to Mokrzycki.

The Bucs will now face the winner of the Southeast Region 1 Tournament, hosted by Armstrong Atlantic in the first round at nationals on Wednesday, May 11. The national tournament is at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Fla., where the Bucs captured the 2010 National Championship. It will be the Bucs ninth straight appearance in the finals field and 16th overall. 

Tennis Match Results
Barry vs Lynn
05/02/11 at Boca Raton, Fla.
(Young Tennis Center)

#4 Barry 5, #5 Lynn 4

Singles competition
1. #13 Willi Wolfer (LUM) def. #6 Emanuel Fraitzl (BUM) 7-6 (7-5), 6-2
2. #14 Vlad Cirla (LUM) def. #26 Max Wimmer (BUM) 6-2, 6-4
3. #44 Marco Mokrzycki (BUM) def. #45 Alessandro Sarra (LUM) 5-7, 7-5, 6-4
4. Sergio Velez (BUM) def. Luca Pavanelli (LUM) 6-3, 6-2
5. Ollie Lemaitre (BUM) def. Alex Voirin (LUM) 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-2
6. Romain Costamagna (BUM) def. Benji Kendall (LUM) 2-6, 6-0, 7-5

Doubles competition
1. #8 Alessandro Sarra/Vlad Cirla (LUM) def. #4 Emanuel Fraitzl/Max Wimmer (BUM) 8-4
2. #9 Willi Wolfer/Luca Pavanelli (LUM) def. Marco Mokrzycki/Quentin Vachez (BUM) 8-5
3. Ollie Lemaitre/Sergio Velez (BUM) def. Benji Kendall/Alex Voirin (LUM) 9-8 (7-2)

Match Notes:
Barry 19-7; National ranking #4; Regional ranking #3
Lynn 18-5; National ranking #5; Regional ranking #2
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (,4,2,1,6,5,3)
NCAA South Regional Finals