Barry Wins Sixth Straight NCAA Division II Women's Tennis Championship

Barry Wins Sixth Straight NCAA Division II Women's Tennis Championship

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Barry wins four singles points for the second straight year

By: Dennis Jezek | Barry Athletic Communications

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The top-seeded and ranked Barry Buccaneers rallied back from a deficit after doubles to beat the second-ranked and seeded Nova Southeastern Sharks 4-1 at the 2023 NCAA Division II Women's Tennis Championship at the USTA National Collegiate Campus on Tuesday to claimed their sixth straight NCAA Division II championship.

Barry has now won eight overall titles, tying Armstrong Atlantic for the most titles in Division II history. For the Buccaneer athletics program, it was title 28, including 23 since 2004.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: No. 1 Barry 4, No. 2 Nova Southeastern 0
Records: Barry (28-0), Nova Southeastern (26-4)
Series: Barry leads 27-3

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING:

SUMMARY:

Doubles

  1. #1Natalie Espinal/Fatima Bizhukova (NSU) def. Dinara Alloiarova/Angel Leweurs 6-1 
  2. Deniz Khazan/Nathalia Gasparin (BARRY) def. Eva Goncharov/Diane Follin-Arbelet (NSU) 6-2 
  3. Karolina Snita/Julie Razafindranaly (NSU) def. Xiyao Wang/Daniela Farfan (BARRY)  7-6(2)

Singles

  1. #1 Deniz Khazan (BARRY) def. #10 Julie Razafindranaly (NSU) 6-2, 6-1
  2. #19 Dinara Alloiarova (BARRY) def. #14 Natalie Espinal (NSU) 6-4, 7-6(1) 
  3. #16 Daniela Farfan (BARRY) vs. #26 Karolina Snita (NSU) 6-3, 2-6, 3-2, unfinished
  4. #36 Xiyao Wang (BARRY) def. Fatima Bizhukova (NSU) 6-4, 6-7 (1), 0-1 unfinished
  5. Selina Pichler (BARRY) def. Diane Follin-Arbelet (NSU) 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 
  6. #63 Clara Versier (BARRY) def. Eva Goncharov (NSU) 6-2, 6-2

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • For the second time in three meetings, it came down to a tie breaker for the doubles point. The Sharks won quickly at number one, but Barry's Khazan and Gasparin evened the match at number two. 
  • At number three, however, Farfan and Wang were forced to a tie-breaker by Razafindranaly and Snita. The Sharks duo jumped out to a 6-1 lead before hanging on for a 7-3 win.
  • Khazan continued her mastery of former Buccaneer Razafindranaly, winning in straight sets to even the match. Khazan is 6-0 against her former teammate over the last two seasons.
  • Versier made almost equally quick work of Goncharov at number six, giving Barry their first lead.
  • At number two, Alloiarova rallied back from down 0-4 in the first set to win six straight games, then prevailed 7-1 in a tie-breaker in the second set to beat Espinal.
  • It was Pichler who clinched the match, despite dropping the first set to Follin-Arbelet. The junior stormed back to win the second and third sets 6-1, 6-2 to clinch the title.
  • The remaining matches went unfinished.

NOTEWORTHY

  • The Bucs won their eighth overall national championship and sixth in a row. 
  • For Barry's overall athletic program, it is their 28th national championship and 23rd since 2004.
  • Barry extended their own record for consecutive title and moved past BYU-Hawai'i to tie Armstrong Atlantic for the most championships in the division. Both the Seasiders and Pirates athletic programs are now defunct.  
  • It was the ninth straight win over the Sharks, dating back to 2019. In all three wins this year, NSU claimed the doubles point, only to fall in singles.
  • Barry has also extended its school-record winning streak to 90 matches, dating back to that lost to the Sharks in the 2019 Sunshine State Conference tournament.
  • Khazan, Wang, Farfan, and Versier join former women's players Jil Engelmann, Verena Schmid, Zusa Maciejewska, and Razafindranaly with three championship rings.
  • It was the second year in a row that Barry dropped the doubles point, only to rally in singles for the title and the second straight year that the clinch came at number five.
Courtesy of Barry Athletic Communications