Hall of Fame
Herbert Bende – Barry University (Men’s Tennis)
The captain of the Buccaneers’ famed “Super Six,” which carried Barry University to three straight Sunshine State Conference men’s tennis titles and two NCAA national runner-up finishes in four years, Herbert Bende is the most decorated men’s tennis player in Barry history. The Bratislava, Slovakia, native broke into the college scene in a big way, winning the Rolex Small College Singles national title as a freshman in 1995. In 1997, he was named Sunshine State Conference Player of the Year as he won a career-high 20 spring dual matches and led the Bucs to the first of three straight conference titles, the first ones ever for the Bucs on the court. In four years at Barry, Bende compiled a 48-22 singles record in spring dual matches, mostly at the top flight. During his career, he was named an ITA All-American all four years, becoming the first Buccaneer to accomplish this outstanding feat. Bende truly set himself apart as he also was named to the All-SSC squad each year from 1996-99 and ranked in the NCAA II top 10 all four years. A member of the SSC Silver Anniversary Men’s Tennis Team announced in 2003, Bende graduated in 2000 with a degree in sport management and was inducted into the Barry University Athletics Wall of Honor on Oct. 15, 2004. Bende is just the second male tennis player ever to earn induction into the SSC Hall of Fame.