LAKELAND, Fla. – Barry University women’s tennis players Emma Onila and Linda Fritschken won the Intercollegiate Tennis Association/United States Tennis Association NCAA Division II South Region Championships at Florida Southern Monday.
It is the second straight year the Bucs doubles team won the title. They now advance to the ITA Small College Championships Oct. 9-12 at Palmetto Tennis Center in Sumpter, S.C.
“I’m extremely happy that Emma and Linda were able to win the tournament again, and now they get to play in the national tournament,” Barry coach Avi Kigel said.
Seeded second, Fritschken and Onila beat Lynn’s third-seeded Valentine Confalonieri and Martina Gledacheva, 8-6, in the semifinals. In the finals, the Buccaneers duo took down Florida Southern’s sixth-seeded Magda Riutort and Mirka Mensikova, 8-1.
“They played a very tough Lynn team,” Kigel said.
Barry’s tandem went into a break up 5-2. Lynn's pair battled back to tie it, 5-5. But the Bucs pair won three of the next four games to advance to the finals.
“They really, really fought hard,” Kigel said. “They have this special connection between the two of them. They know one another, and they’re helping one another.”
Barry’s Ana Pain and Sonja Larsen had to default in the semifinals due to Pain’s academic commitment.
Larsen and Onila lost in the semifinals of the singles bracket. Larsen, seeded fourth, fell to top seed Valentine Confalonieri, of Lynn, 6-4, 4-6, 11-9, in a thrilling singles semifinal match. Onila, the second seed, lost to third-seeded Monika Kochanova, of West Florida, 5-7, 6-4, 10-8, in another compelling semifinal battle.
“I’m very happy with Sonja’s performance,” Kigel said. “It was a great performance for her. She played a great semifinal against the No. 1 player in the country. A great start, and she can only get better.
“Emma had an even tougher road. Probably didn’t play her best tennis this tournament, but was able to sustain herself. (In the match against Kochanova), West Florida just got a couple of breaks, and it just went her way. That's how it is in super tiebreakers. Overall, it was a good tournament for her. She played a lot of matches.”
All four of Barry’s players who competed at the South Region Championships advanced to semifinals in singles or doubles.
“We are in a really good position with all four of them,” Kigel said.
Barry will compete in the Varner Invitational Friday through Sunday in Winter Park, Fla.