WINTER PARK, Fla. -- Barry sophomore Fabian Groetsch was named Sunshine State Conference Men's Tennis Player of the Week presented by VALIC.
A lefty, Groetsch (Nuremberg, Germany) collected four wins to help the No. 2 Buccaneers earn a pair of victories, including a 7-2 triumph over No. 4 Lynn that secured an undefeated SSC regular season for the Buccaneers. In that top-five showdown, Groetsch, who is ranked No. 19 in NCAA Division II singles, defeated No. 23 Vlad Cirla 6-2, 7-6 (4) in the No. 2 flight. He also combined with Marco Mokrzycki for an 8-5 win over Simon Gloeckner and Pavel Mohja in the top doubles flight. Earlier in the week, Groetsch earned a 7-6 (4), 6-0 singles win over Ryan Schmitz at the No. 1 spot in Barry's 9-0 sweep of NCAA Division I Siena. He teamed with Max Wimmer for an 8-0 doubles win over Schmitz and Eric Sumanaru that same day.
Groetsch became the third Buccaneer to win the award this season.
Barry will play No. 5 Hawai'i Pacific 10 a.m. Friday to begin a three-match trip in Austin, Texas. The Bucs (17-0) will also play No. 13 Grand Canyon and No. 25 St. Edward's on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
For more than half a century, VALIC has served as a leading retirement plan provider for higher education, as well as for K-12 schools and school districts, healthcare, government and other not-for-profit institutions. VALIC has more than $65 billion in total assets under management and manages plans for nearly 25,000 groups serving nearly two million plan participants. VALIC represents The Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company and its subsidiaries, VALIC Financial Advisors, Inc., and VALIC Retirement Services Company.