Akemi Maehama now has a .939 winning percentage in singles at Barry.
MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -- Barry swept Rollins 9-0 on Sunday, a day it began to say goodbye to seniors Cristina Valladares and Akemi Maehama.
Both Valladares and Maehama won their final regular-season singles matches at Buccaneer Tennis Center as the No. 1 Buccaneers improved to 19-1 overall, 7-0 in the Sunshine State Conference. No. 8 Rollins fell to 13-4, 2-2. It was the sixth shutout of the season for the Bucs, who will play at No. 5 Lynn for the SSC regular-season title next Saturday.
"I played pretty good in my last match at Barry," Valladares said after beating Taylor Brown, 6-0, 6-1, at No. 5 singles. "I am very happy with the matches that I've done. I feel in shape, I'm ready to go, and I want to keep playing my best tennis until the end of the season."
Valladares improved to 8-1 this season, including a 3-0 mark at the No. 5 flight.
Maehama found herself down 5-2 in the opening set to Rollins' Ashley Loft, but battled back for a 7-5, 7-6 (7-1) win. It was her sixth consecutive victory, and the 46th of her career, which ranks 16th all-time in school history. Her win also moved her into a tie with teammate Karina Goia for the best career winning percentage (.939) in school history. Goia did not play in singles Sunday.
The match, originally scheduled for Saturday, was postponed until Sunday due to weather -- a decision made earlier in the week. That didn't stop the Buccaneers from performing at the top of their game.
Elisabeth Abanda and Goia beat the Tars No. 3 doubles team of Mariana Salvador and Johanna Olsson 8-3. Sixth-ranked Emma Onila and Linda Fritschken were 8-4 winners versus Shannon Etten and Taylor Brown at No. 2. Kimmy Twelker and Blanka Szavay held on for the second consecutive No. 1 doubles victory since being paired together a week ago, this time beating Elissa DeCampli and Ashley Rosenberg 8-6.
Onila, the No. 7-ranked singles player in the country, was efficient in beating the 17th-ranked DeCampli 6-0, 6-2, at the No. 1 flight. Fritschken, ranked 43rd, rolled to a 6-0, 6-1 win versus Rosenberg at No. 2. Abanda beat Salvador 6-4, 6-2 at No. 4. Ana Pain battled through a tough second set to pull out a 6-3, 7-5 victory at No. 3 against Etten.
