MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – In a span of five days, Barry University honored two teams for their 2014 NCAA Division II National Championships.
Barry’s men’s golf team was honored Thursday with a prestigious ring ceremony in the Landon Atrium to commemorate its back-to-back championship. The Buccaneers women’s tennis team received their rings Monday in an equally memorable ceremony.
President Sister Linda Bevilacqua, Athletic Director Mike Covone and Associate Athletic Director Jamie Carrig made presentations at the ceremonies.
Bevilacqua said Barry is getting used to these ceremonies, welcoming everyone to, “… what’s becoming a very common event for us,” she said, referencing the four titles the school has won in the past two years.
“Another national championship.”
Both the women’s tennis team and men’s golf team have won multiple national titles, and both captured their last titles on the venues they each won their first.
“Coming back as defending champions, we knew we had the best team,” Bucs men’s golf coach Jimmy Stobs said during his ceremonial speech. “There was a lot of pressure. We were by far the best team, but I kept reminding the guys to be considered great, you had to win that one tournament. They were focused from Day 1, and they were never complacent.”
Stobs made reference to a message in a poem he offered to his players earlier in the season, urging them to look themselves in the mirror and be honest with themselves during the process.
“Guys, you didn’t cheat that guy in the glass,” he told his team. “You did it.”
Upon their arrival in Michigan, where the golf team captured the first of its national titles, Stobs told his team it was an opportunity to soak everything up.
“I wanted them to embrace that moment,” he said before directing his closing thoughts to his players – people he often refers to as his sons. “The ring you are about to receive is a symbol of your phenomenal accomplishment.”
Women’s tennis captured its second title in four years, also going back to the site where the Bucs had won their first championship. The Buccaneers, like their golf team brethren, were ranked No. 1 in the nation entering the championship. They stood the test in Altamonte Springs, Fla., beating the best to become the best.
“After all this effort, you are being rewarded with the highest achievement in college athletics,” Bucs women’s tennis coach Avi Kigel told his team. “For the rest of your life, you will always know that you are national champions.”