No. 20 Tampa Falls to No. 1 Barry

Nicole Casas
Nicole Casas
February 16, 2025

Tampa, Fla. - The University of Tampa's Women's Tennis team wasback on the court this morning to take on the number one team in the country, Barry University. With a quick turnaround from Friday's season opener, the Spartans were eager to get up and go against elite competition.  

Final: No. 1 Barry University Buccaneers, No. 20 University of Tampa Spartans 2

Location: Naimoli and Young Tennis Complex | Tampa, Fla.

Records: No 1 Barry 4-0 (2-0 SSC), No. 20  Tampa(0-2, 0-1 SSC)

How It Happened: 

Going up against No. 1 Barry this early in the season was a great test to see how the Spartans match up with the top team in the nation. The match began with exciting doubles play that saw two courts head into tiebreaker sets. Nicole Cierniak and Victoria Sanchez battled one of the top pairs in the country and took them all the way to the end. They outlasted regulation but fell 7-5 to give Barry their first doubles win. On the opposite court, Nicole Casas and Sophia Gutkowski also took their opponents to extra sets, falling 7-5 after tough and competitive rallies. Barry went on the sweep doubles play and picked up the first point of the match despite the hard effort from the Spartans. As the match transitioned to singles, the Spartans were unable to get any team momentum. Barry made quick work of the first two matches while Sundling and Axelsson also fell in hard fought sets. The highlight of the singles matches belonged to Nicole Casas who battled her opponent in three tightly contested sets. After dropping the first set 2-6, Casas dug deep and got even with 6-3 dominating win in set two. The third set was the most electric set of the day. Neither player had a true advantage, finding ways to outduel each other and win rallies. However, with the set tied at 8, Cases used her quickness and power to earn back to back points and win the match. This was the only Tampa point of day but the Spartans proved they could hang with the best of the best. 

 

Doubles Results: Barry 3-0 - Barry 1 Point 

  1. Dema/Tatarnikova (Barry) def. Cierniak/Sanchez (Tampa) 7-5

  2. Crespo/Di Palma (Barry) def. Axelsson/Chebli (Tampa) 6-1

  3. Alloiarova/Lutringer (Barry) def. Casas/Gutkowski (Tampa) 7-5

 

Singles Results: Barry 5 Points, Tampa 1 Point

  1. Alina Michalitsch (Barry) def. Victoria Sanchez (Tampa) 6-1, 6-2

  2. Viktoriia Dema (Barry) def. Nicole Cierniak (Tampa) 6-1, 6-0

  3. Nicole Casas (Tampa) def. Andrea Di Palma (Barry) 2-6, 6-3, 10-8

  4. Louane Lutringer (Barry) def. Ida Axelsson (Tampa) 6-2, 6-4

  5. Dinara Alloiarova (Barry) def. L. Eriksson Sundling (Tampa) 6-0, 6-3

  6. Angela Leweurs (Barry) def. Sophie Wagner (Tampa) 6-2, 6-2

 

Outside the Box: 

  • No. 20 Spartans recorded their tiebreaker sets, with two in doubles 

  • Nicole Casas won a tiebreaker set with an astonishing 10 earned points

UP NEXT: Tampa will have time to rest and train until Nova Southeastern comes to town. This highly touted match will take place on February 25th at 2:00pm.