By Laura Blanco
Buccaneer spring sports are dominating across the board with lots of success still in store.
Both golf teams won the SSC Tournament, women’s tennis had another undefeated season, and softball, baseball, men’s tennis, and rowing are showing promise as the postseason nears.
The following statistics and rankings are those as of April 12.
Basketball
Women’s basketball unfortunately lost to the University of Tampa in the second round of the Sunshine State Conference Tournament (SSC). Despite that loss, they are proud of the resilience and team chemistry they had as their overall record was 16-10.
“We kept our same team philosophies and the style of play,” said junior Ashleigh Pink. “We definitely grew closer as a team due to all the adversity we had to overcome over the years.”
Men’s basketball advanced to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 2 seed but were upset by the No. 7 seed AlabamaHuntsville in the opening round. Senior Jake Kakar had an amazing performance with 10 three-pointers and 36 total points. Overall, they had a 20-9 season.
Kakar said he and his team are proud of “the hard work we put in throughout the whole year and the sacrifices everyone made to win.”
Baseball
Varsity baseball had its first full season this February after half their games were canceled for the past two years. JV baseball is also having its first season this spring and is 6-5-1.
“What I’m really looking forward to is enjoying every moment on and off the field with my teammates,” said senior Arrison Perez.
Softball
Softball has a 23-16 overall record since their start in February and has hopes for a great postseason run.
Maggie Wheless learned this semester, “each game could be your last so play hard and enjoy it.”
She also attributes their offensive strength to hitting coach Holly Kathios who joined the Bucs last fall.
Golf
Men’s golf won the SSC Championship in historical fashion and has maintained their dominance all season, being ranked No. 1 in the Bushnell/Golfweek Division II Coaches Poll as of April 1.
Felipe Alvarez, senior golfer who has been named the SSC Golfer of the Week this season, grew to have patience and trust this season.
“We have been putting the work in to fight for the championship, so getting it done would be amazing,” said Alvarez. “I am definitely looking forward to that challenge.”
Women’s golf also won the SSC Championship for the second time and senior Alice Götbring took home the individual title.
She is focused on the factors she can control with the rest of the season ahead of her. “The biggest lesson is to focus on me and let everything else just be noise around me,” said Götbring.
Both golf teams have automatic bids to the NCAA Regionals in early May.
Tennis
Women’s tennis had their third undefeated season finishing the regular season 20-0. They’ve been able to travel to other states like Georgia and Oklahoma to play a full season.
Senior Kim Moosbacher learned the importance of teamwork this season, adding “tennis is an individual sport and being a team at the same time can be a challenge.”
Moosbacher and senior Daniela Farfan are the No. 1 doubles team in the nation and Deniz Khazan is No. 1 in singles. As a team, they rank No. 1 on April 7’s Division II ITA Collegiate Tennis rankings.
Men’s tennis is 13-4 for this season and ranks No. 2 in the Division II ITA Collegiate Tennis rankings released on April 7.
Martin Gutierrez, a senior on the team, feels this season is special despite the challenges they’ve faced.
“With so many more matches to play this season, we’ve had to really put in the work off the court keeping our bodies healthy and in shape,” he said.
Rowing
Rowing was named No. 3 in the Pocock/ CRCA Coaches Poll on March 30 with the Varsity 8 boat earning multiple mentions in the SSC Boat of the Week list.
Amanda Araujo, a senior, learned her team is more capable than they thought. “I learned how well our team is able to face adversity and come together when needed.”
For upcoming games, check out gobarrybucs.com and follow @gobarrybucs on social media.
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