Men's Tennis Shocks #1 Armstrong in First Round of NCAA Finals

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla.—The saga between the Barry University men's tennis team and the Armstrong Atlantic Pirates continued on Wednesday afternoon as the fifth-ranked Buccaneer men's tennis team came storming back to defeat top-ranked Armstrong Atlantic for the second-straight year in the NCAA Finals by a score of 5-4 on Thursday.

In doubles action, the fifth-ranked doubles team of Emanuel Fraitzl and Max Wimmer fell 8-2 to #1 Rafael Array and Mikk Irdoja. The Bucs took games three and seven, but were unable to hold off the top-ranked team in the country.

In the third flight, Eudaldo Bonet and Dan Regan took a win over Sergio Velez and Ollie Lemaitre. Though Barry led 3-2 and later 5-4, the Pirates took the final three games to win the set.

The Buccaneers’ first point came at No. 2 doubles where Marco Mokrzycki and Quentin Vachez beat Matus Mydla and Pedro Scocuglia 8-6. The Pirates led 6-4 midway through the set before the Bucs took four-straight games to take the win.

In singles action, the Bucs needed four points to take the win. Barry got the points they needed, winning at flights one, two, three, and six.

The Bucs notched it up at 2-2 when Lemaitre won by default at the fifth flight. His opponent, Ragen was forced to withdrawal. Lemaitre led 6-3, 2-0.

The Pirates bounced back, taking a 3-2 lead after Scocuglia beat Romain Costamagna 6-4, 6-3 at No. 6.
Barry tied it up once more after Wimmer beat the top-ranked player in the country, Bonet, in impressive fashion, 7-6 (8-6), 6-2. In the first-set tiebreaker Wimmer took the first six points before giving Bonet the next six. Wimmer finished it off by taking the final two points.

Moments later, #36 Mokrzycki gave Barry the 4-3 lead by downing #23 Mydla in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5. Mokrzycki took the final three games in the second set to take the win.

In typical Barry-Armstrong fashion, the Pirates tied it once more at 4-4 when #24 Array beat Velez 6-3, 7-6 (7-1).

The final point came down to the top flight where #2 Irdoja and fourth-ranked Fraitzl faced off in a heated match. Fraitzl dominated the first set, winning 6-2. Irdoja owned the second set, flipping the score and winning 6-2 himself.

In the third set, Irdoja took the early 2-1 lead before Fraitzl won five straight to take the third-set win 6-1 with the final tally in favor of Buccaneers’ senior: 6-2, 2-6, 6-2.

With the win, the Buccaneers avenged an earlier 6-3 loss to the Pirates on April 8. The Bucs (20-7) move onto the quarterfinal of the NCAA tournament and will face #6 Abilene Christian tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. Fans can continue to follow the Championship Blog and live stats. The NCAA also provides live video coverage for selective matches.

Tennis Match Results
Armstrong Atlantic vs Barry
05/11/11 at Altamonte Springs, Fla.
(Sanlando Park)

#5 Barry 5, #1 Armstrong Atlantic 4

Singles competition
1. #4 Emanuel Fraitzl (BUM) def. #2 Mikk Irdoja (AASU) 6-2, 2-6, 6-3
2. #25 Max Wimmer (BUM) def. #1 Eudaldo Bonet (AASU) 7-6 (8-6), 6-1
3. #36 Marco Mokrzycki (BUM) def. #23 Matus Mydla (AASU) 6-4, 7-5
4. #24 Rafael Array (AASU) def. Sergio Velez (BUM) 6-2, 7-6 (6-1)
5. Ollie Lemaitre (BUM) def. Daniel Regan (AASU) 6-3, 2-0, retired
6. Pedro Scocuglia (AASU) def. Romain Costamagna (BUM) 6-4, 6-3

Doubles competition
1. #1 Rafael Array/Mikk Irdoja (AASU) def. #5 Emanuel Fraitzl/Max Wimmer (BUM) 8-2
2. #35 Marco Mokrzycki/Quentin Vachez (BUM) def. Matus Mydla/Pedro Scocuglia (AASU) 8-6
3. Eudaldo Bonet/Daniel Regan (AASU) def. Sergio Velez/Ollie Lemaitre (BUM) 8-6

Match Notes:
Armstrong Atlantic 26-1; National ranking #1
Barry 20-7; National ranking #5
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (5,6,2,3,4,1)
NCAA Division II Tennis Championships
Round of 16
Match 8