By Olivia Coiro
Lynn University’s men’s tennis team was blanked, 5-0, by No. 3 Barry in the NCAA South Region 2 Championship on Tuesday afternoon. The Fighting Knights finish the 2014 campaign 16-7 overall. Barry improves to 23-2 and will advance to the NCAA Championships round of 16 May 14-17, at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Fla.
Barry took a 3-0 lead in doubles play which began with Lynn’s Vlad Cirla and Pavel Mojha falling, 8-5, to Romain Costamagna and Leo Vivas at the No. 2 spot. The duo trailed 3-0 early but fought back to win two quick points and keep the match neck-and-neck through the very end. No. 8 Daniel Riggs and Paolo Volpicelli lost a close 8-6 battle to second-ranked Ollie Lemaitre and Ahmed Triki at the top spot in the lineup. Tomas Prokop and Guilio Gomba lost, 8-6, at No. 3 doubles to Kevin Sielmann and Renato Lombardi.
Guilio Gomba, who was filling in for an injured Alessio Iannozzi, was the first to fall at No. 6 singles. Lombardi defeated the sophomore, 6-0, 6-1, to put Barry within one point of advancing to the NCAA Championships. Nico Dreer sealed the deal when he defeated Lynn’s Mojha, 6-3, 6-0, at No. 4 singles.
Lynn now stands at 26-26 all-time versus the Buccaneers since first meeting in 1989. This season BU defeated Lynn in all three meetings between the Sunshine State Conference rivals. The Blue & White have appeared in 12-straight NCAA Tournaments and have met Barry in the South Region Finals two out of the past three seasons.
The Fighting Knights will graduate one senior, Cirla, who ends his career with a 54-22 singles record and while going 73-15 in doubles.