Barry University adds two more national championships to impressive athletics resume

There are few colleges in the country that can match the Barry Buccaneers’ success rate in tennis and golf.

In just those two sports, Barry has won 16 NCAA Division II national titles since 2010. When adding rowing and men’s soccer, that’s 19 national titles for Barry in the past dozen years.

The breakdown: seven for women’s tennis, six for men’s tennis, two for men’s golf, two for rowing and one each for women’s golf and men’s soccer.

In fact, Barry has won at least one national title in 11 of the past 12 years, missing out only in 2012.

This year’s Barry’s national champs are the men’s and women’s tennis programs. Here’s a closer look at how Barry did in tennis and golf this season:

▪ Barry’s women’s tennis team (28-0) has won 62 straight matches, which is eight short of the program record. The Bucs haven’t lost a match since a 4-2 defeat to local rival Nova Southeastern University on April 27, 2019.

Coach Avi Kigel, however, insists that winning this year’s national title was far from easy.

“You have to understand the pressure,” Kigel said. “Everyone was expecting us to win. Our players had to cancel all the outside noise and focus on the day to day.”

The Bucs did that, despite battling injuries all season.

“We almost never had our full lineup,” Kigel said.

No worries: Barry still won the final, beating Central Oklahoma, 4-1.

Barry moved past SIU-Edwardsville (1986-89) as the only women’s tennis program to ever win five straight Division II national titles. Barry’s seven overall titles is one short of the record held by Armstrong, which no longer has an athletics program.

There will be significant turnover in Barry women’s tennis next year as Engelmann (No. 2 singles) and Kim Moosbacher (No. 3 doubles) have graduated.

Kigel said it’s also likely that Xiyao Wang (No. 3 singles), Helene Scholsen (No. 4 singles) and Madeline Bosnjak (No. 5 singles) will not return.

The good news for Barry is that No. 1 player Deniz Khazan will return along with Daniela Farfan (No. 6 singles).

Kigel also has a couple of standouts coming back in Angela Leweurs and Clara Versier.

“We have four good players,” Kigel said, “and we need three or four more.”

▪ New men’s tennis coach Thomas Hipp, hired by Barry in August of 2021, inherited a program that was developed into a national power by his predecessor and mentor, Dr. George Samuel.

Hipp played for Samuel and also served as his assistant for 11 years. Under Samuel, Barry won five national titles, including championships in each of the past two years.

Now it’s Hipp’s turn.

“It feels amazing,” Hipp said of his first title as head coach.

Hipp said Barry was strong in singles this year. His focus was to improve doubles play, and Hipp also worked on the team’s mental strength.

“It was important as a new coach to make some changes to create friction,” Hipp said. “If you keep everything the same, the players might become lethargic.”

Hipp battled complacency all season by moving players up and down as well as in and out of the lineup.

It worked, and Hipp must replace three players for 2022: Ignasi Forcano (No. 4 singles); Martin Gutierrez (No. 6 singles); and Hugo Cazaban (No. 3 doubles).

But Barry returns its top three singles players and five of its top eight athletes. Plus, the Bucs have signed two college transfers who should make an immediate impact.

▪ Barry women’s golf team lost to Findlay, 4-1-0, in the national semifinals. It was close – Barry lost three matches by one stroke.

The Bucs’ only victory against Findlay came from Alice Gotbring, who cruised by six strokes. Gotbring, the National Player of the Year, has completed her Barry career and is set to turn pro.

“Alice came in first or second at almost every tournament,” Barry coach Shannon Sykora said. “But she put so much work in – it’s not like she just showed up.”

Overall, this was Barry’s best finish still winning the title in 2017.

Despite losing Gotbring for 2023, the Bucs return two second-team All-Americans: Nina Klug and Eve Marie Sapin. Klug was also the Sunshine State Conference Freshman of the Year.

Sykora is also high on Louisane Gauthier, an incoming freshman from Uruguay.

▪ Barry’s men’s golf team – which had been ranked No. 1 in the country – lost in the national quarterfinals to eventual champion Lee, 4-1-0.

“We had a great year, but we didn’t play well all week at nationals,” Barry coach Jimmy Stobs said. “We had a chance to beat Lee, but two of our matches were decided by one stroke.

“The best teams don’t always win championships. It’s frustrating, but all our guys are coming back for 2021, and we’re adding a transfer from LSU. We’re excited about next year.”

AJ Ewart, Barry’s top player, is one of five national finalists for the Division II Jack Nicklaus Player of the Year award. The winner will be announced on June 5.