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Barry University finally ended the Columbus State reign.

The No. 5 Buccaneers captured their first ITA Division II Men’s National Team Indoor championship with a 4-3 win over No. 1 Columbus State last Sunday at the UIndy Tennis Center in Indianapolis.

In the three-year history of the event, Columbus State had won the previous two titles, including a win over Barry in the 2019 final.

“Every day we played better and better and better and today we peaked,” said Barry head coach Thomas Hipp said. “It was really nice to see that the guys were playing so well and we were able to win it.”

Freshman Arnau Rodriguez secured the clinching victory for BU (4-1) with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Felix Steen at No. 6 singles.

The Bucs won the doubles point behind victories from the pairings of Igansi Forcano-Martin Gutierrez and Tim Buttner-Alessandro Giuliato.

The singles went back and forth between the teams with all matches finishing in straight sets.

BU’s Alejandro Palacios gave the Bucs a 2-0 lead with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Javier Cueto Ramos at the No. 2 spot. Tommaso Schold secured the first point for CSU (6-1) with a win at No. 3

CSU pulled even when Alvaro Regalado beat Giuliato 6-2, 6-4 on the top court, and Christian Garay put CSU ahead for the first time with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Hugo Cazaban at No. 4.

But Forcano evened the match for BU by taking down Pietro Martinetti 6-4, 6-4 at No. 5 to set up the historic celebratory clinch by Rodriguez.

“We really wanted this tournament … we had to fight hard every single round since the beginning, playing hard each match and fighting every day,” Rodriguez said. “... I was so nervous at the end, but I was able to really, really keep going through the match and at the end win the championship.”

Singles

1. #1 Alvaro Regalado (CSU) def. #25 Alessandro Giuliato (BU) 6-2, 6-4
2. #9 Alejandro Palacios (BU) def. #8 Javier Cueto Ramos (CSU) 6-2, 6-2
3. Tommaso Schold (CSU) def. #3 Alejandro Ibañez Gallego (BU) 6-3, 6-2
4. Christian Garay (CSU) def. Hugo Cazaban (BU) 6-4, 6-2
5. Ignasi Forcano (BU) def. #36 Pietro Martinetti (CSU) 6-4, 6-4
6. Arnau Rodriguez (BU) def. Felix Steen (CSU) 6-4, 6-4

Order of finish: 2,3,1,4,5,6

Doubles

1. Arnau Rodriguez/Alejandro Ibañez Gallego (BU) vs. Alvaro Regalado/Pietro Martinetti (CSU) 5-5, unfinished
2. Ignasi Forcano/Martin Gutierrez (BU) def. Christian Garay/Tommaso Schold (CSU) 6-3
3. Tim Büttner/Alessandro Giuliato (BU) def. Javier Cueto Ramos/Felix Steen (CSU) 6-4

Order of finish: 2,3,1

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About Rhiannon Potkey

Rhiannon Potkey is a veteran sportswriter with more than two decades of experience in journalism. Potkey has covered many sports at many levels and has a passion for finding great stories. Potkey has covered the U.S. Open, junior sectional and national events, college conference championships and Davis Cup matches. Potkey is currently Content Strategist for Tennis Recruiting. You can reach Rhiannon by email at [email protected].