MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -- Ollie Lemaitre is on the verge of shouting again. For good reason, of course. He's playing again, and the Buccaneers men's tennis team added another win.
"They will be back on Friday," Lemaitre said of his patented Ollie Outbursts after No. 4 Barry beat No. 10 Oklahoma Christian, 6-3, Sunday at Buccaneer Tennis Center.
The win improved the Bucs' record to 14-0, entering Friday's 3 p.m. home tilt with NCAA Division II defending national champ and No. 1-ranked Armstrong Atlantic.
Lemaitre, who returned to the singles lineup this weekend after not playing since Feb. 10 against No. 6 Rollins, picked up wins in doubles and singles Sunday. He and Max Wimmer beat Julio Pulido and Nicolas Auruccio, 8-4, at No. 2 doubles.
"I was really happy to play with Max because he's a great singles and doubles player," Lemaitre said. "He does everything well. He approaches well, he moves really well at the net. He sees the court really well. I played loose because I was feeling confident to play with him. I could go for shots. The other team wasn't bad, though. We just didn't let them breathe. We didn't let them take advantage of anything."
Barry's Leo Vivas and Romain Costamagna beat Paulo Roessle and Josip Smoljan, 8-4, at No. 3 doubles to secure the Bucs' second point. Barry's No. 2-ranked tandem of Marco Mokrzycki and Fabian Groetsch lost to OCU's No. 8-ranked Bruno Tiberti and Martin Poboril, 9-8 (5), at No. 1 doubles. That left the Buccaneers ahead 2-1 in the match, entering singles.
Ranked No. 16, Groetsch, who has regained his form of late, beat the 33rd-ranked Poboril, 6-4, 6-4, at No. 2 singles. The win bumped Groetsch's record to 6-3 this year.
Costamagna improved to 10-0 with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Smoljan at No. 3. Costamagna trailed 4-3 in the second set before rattling off three straight games to keep his perfect record alive. He trailed Love-30 in the final game, but won the next four points to close it out.
Mokrzycki beat the third ranked opponent in his past four matches when he delivered a 6-1, 7-6 (4) No. 1 singles win over Tiberti. Mokrzycki is ranked No. 7, while Tiberti is No. 41.
Lemaitre beat Roessle, 6-4, 6-2, at No. 6.
Leading 5-2 in the first set, Lemaitre dropped the next two games, allowing Roessle to close within 5-4. But the Bucs junior from New Caledonia won the next game to take the first set. Lemaitre raced to a 5-1 lead in the second set before Roessle won the next game, but the Buccaneers' nifty lefty wrapped up his third victory of the season by taking the final game.
"I came out on the court, really pumped, ready to play my game, and ready to show the team I was back," Lemaitre said. "There were ups and downs, but I think I was tough on the important points. I didn't really give up anything. I fought all the way through.
"In the second set, I didn't play with any pressure. I was just playing my game, and I trying to do what I know best. I really took the opportunities to approach the net, and I wasn't scared hitting the ball. I was really determined to end the last game with my serve. I really played loose, and went for the shots."
Lemaitre's win clinched the match for the Bucs, and it couldn't have come at a better time. He and the rest of the Bucs know they'll need their best tennis to beat the unbeaten Pirates Friday.
"It feels good to be able to help the team again," Lemaitre said. "It definitely feels good to be back in the lineup in doubles and singles, and help the guys out as much as I can. You never know who's going to clinch. You got to play it out. But it doesn't matter. It's all about the team winning. For yourself, it's always an honor. For the guys who were there watching my match, supporting, it feels good. Especially the guys not playing and the others who did as well as the fans, it feels real good."