BRADENTON, Fla. – The 2023 Sunshine State Conference Men's Tennis finals came down to tiebreakers, but the #1 Saint Leo University Men's tennis team suffered heartbreak Saturday as the Lions fell 4-3 to second-seeded #4 Barry at the IMG Academy Tennis Courts.
 
In a tiebreaking set, the Green & Gold were four points shy of ending the Buccaneers' tournament reign in the SSC, but the Red & Black hung on to claim its sixth, straight conference tournament and 18th overall.
 
While Barry earned the overall point in the Doubles series, Fifth-year Martin Soukal and Sophomore Vincent Thiel pulled off a 6-4 win over #6 nationally-ranked Alejandro Gallego and Arnau Rodriguez.
 
Soukal and Thiel also won their respective Singles matches, as Thiel tied the overall match 1-1 with a 6-2 6-4 win over #26 nationally-ranked Alejandro Palacios before Soukal's 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 victory over #30 Gallego evened the match 3-3.  Junior Luis Iriarte won the Lions a point in straight sets against Alessio Demichelis.
 
In the deciding Singles match, #43 nationally-ranked Senior Tao Castillo Bernal faced the veteran Rodriguez, as the native of Cadiz, Spain conceded the first set 6-4 before rebounding to take the second set 6-3.  The third set came down to tiebreakers, but Castillo was bested 7⁷-6³ that gave Rodriguez his second, career championship match-clinching win and the title for Barry.
 
The Lions now prepare for the NCAA South Regional tournament April 28-29 and will find out its opponents in Monday's selection show.
 
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