SURPRISE, Ariz. - There was not a word spoken by the University of Indianapolis women's tennis team. All that was heard was the muffle cries of excitement from the Barry tennis team, and the occasional sniffle from a UIndy athlete. A near-perfect season ended at the last moment, in a matchup between the nation's two top ranked teams – it could've gone either direction. This time, it did not go in favor of the Greyhounds. The Barry Buccaneers defeated the Greyhound at the final of the NCAA DII Championship, 4-0.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Hounds, a team known for their doubles acumen, started off in unfamiliar territory, losing two straight matches to surrender the doubles point. Sofia Sharonova and Maria Solnyshkina in the third slot fought tooth and nail to hold on but eventually fell 6-3. And then for the first time this season, the pair of Nikol Alekseeva and Anna Novikova lost a doubles pairing, falling to Barry's No. 10-ranked duo in a close 6-4 match. 

Singles culminated in the match of the year, the showdown of the two best players in all of NCAA Division II women's tennis: No. 1 Nikol Alekseeva for UIndy vs. No. 2 Deniz Khazan for Barry. Khazan jumped out early with a convincing set one 6-1 win, only the second time in the entire season Alekseeva lost the first set. But set two was a different story, as the resiliency of Alekseeva came to the forefront of the tennis center. 

The match was the end-all-be-all for the Hounds, with Sharonova and Novikova both having lost their matches prior; it was win or go home for Alekseeva and the Hounds. Khazan looking to replicate her first set showed control again, attaining a 5-2 lead, but Alekseeva did not fall so easily fighting all the way back to a 6-6 tie. It went into a tiebreaker with Khazan once again scoring quick points leading to another deficit, 5-2. But the Moscow, Russia native fought all the way back to make it 5-5 in the second set tiebreaker. But to the dismay of the Hounds, Khazan's back-to-back points captured set two to bring the trophy into the hands of Barry University once again. 

A moment that felt it lasted a lifetime, the Buc's hoisted their championship trophy into the air. The Hounds – speechless watching what could've been them if just a few points had gone in their favor. A successful season by any measure, with the only loss being in the final match of the national championship.

Prior to the marquee match, Sharonova fell 6-0, 6-3 and Novikova lost 6-4, 6-1. Alina Kislitskaya, Kristina Lagoda and Solnyshkina did not finish their matches. 

This result marks the only loss of the season for the Hounds, as they finished 23-1 with a perfect conference record. On the way to the national finals, the Hounds accumulated accolade after accolade, starting with a ITA DII Indoor Team National Championship. They then went on to claim both a GLVC Championship and a NCAA DII Midwest Regional title. The team accomplishments came alongside numerous individuals ones, including several GLVC Player of the Week awards, four All-GLVC honorees and GLVC Player and Freshman of the Year accolades for Alekseeva and Sharonova respectively. The team also featured highly in the rankings the entire season, with four players reaching the top 50 in singles and two pairs reaching the top five in doubles. 

The Greyhounds did not hold their head low, knowing that they gave their all to the scorching courts of Surprise, Ariz. Each wear a smirk, knowing that they will be back to claim their title soon enough.
 
The Hounds hold their silver-trimmed trophy high above their shoulders. After all, they left everything they had on the court and that couldn't be taken away from them.