All-Decade Team: Men's Tennis

Williamsburg, KY – The UC Men’s Tennis team has been one of the most consistent teams.  In their program history, the Patriots have captured four KIAC Conference titles, two Mid-South Conference regular-season titles, and have made four NAIA National Tournament Appearances, including two in the last decade.  Cumberlands has posted a .500 or better conference record nine straight years and reached the championship match of the MSC Tournament twice. In addition to the team’s success, UC has had 5 NAIA All-Americans, 2 MSC Players of the Year, an MSC Freshman of the Year, 24 MSC All-Conference selections. The Patriots' success has come in part of having a slew of talented players that have garnered countless honors at both the conference and national level. With all of these accomplishments, the one player that represents the men’s tennis program on UC’S All-Decade Team is Martin Barbier.

Barbier is one of the most decorated tennis players in program history as a two-time NAIA All-American, an ITA Singles All-American, MSC Player of the Year and a two-time first-team all-conference selection. Barbier made program history in 2020 as he became the highest-ranked Patriot in the ITA singles ranking peaking at #2, while Barbier and teammate Eric Banoub became UC’s first-ranked doubles pair at #17. He is also just the third Patriot to earn NAIA All-American honors, and the first player since James Thomas in 2003 to be an NAIA First Team All-American.  Over his three years with UC, Barbier posted a 30-10 singles record splitting time between #1 and #2 position, while tallying a 30-16 doubles record at #1 doubles.  Barbier was even more impressive in conference play posting an impressive 10-1 career record so far.

Barbier had an impact on the Patriots program from the time he stepped foot on the court compiling a team-best 10-5 singles record and posted a season-best four-match win streak at one point during his freshman season.  The newcomer earned back-to-back MSC Player of the Week honors to open the season, based on his three-set win over Xavier Marti of Lincoln Memorial at #1 singles. Barbier went 4-0 in his first four conference singles matches and posted singles win over Lindsey Wilson in both meetings. UC struggled in doubles play throughout the season, however, Barbier teamed with Eric Banoub for a critical point in UC’s quarterfinal win over Pikeville in the MSC Tournament.  For his efforts, Barbier was named an NAIA Frist Team All-American, becoming the first Patriot since James Thomas in 2003, and earned MSC First Team All-Conference honors.  

Barbier continue to build on that success during his sophomore season as he posted a team-best 13-3 singles record, 16-3 doubles record, and notched a career-best ten-match singles win streak and 12-match doubles win-streak. He opened the season winning three straight singles and four straight doubles matches.  Barbier shined in conference play as he posted a perfect 6-0 singles record and a 6-0 doubles record, which helped Cumberlands go 4-2 in conference play and finish third in the conference standings.  The sophomore won nine straight singles matches to close out the regular season, while he continued to see doubles success with Banoub as the pair won closed out the regular season on a nine-match win streak. For his efforts, Barbier became just the second Patriot to be named Mid-South Conference Player of the Year and was a First Team All-Conference.  Partners Barbier and Banoub’s strong play continued into the MSC Tournament as they won each of their three matches at #1 doubles. Martin added a straight-set win over Grabuleda Cruanas of Cumberland to help Cumberlands' advance to the finals of the MSC Tournament and earn a berth in the NAIA National Championships.  Martin was an NAIA All-American Honorable Mention, making him the third Patriot to earn multiple All-American honors and lead the Patriots to be ranked 15th in the final NAIA poll.

Barbier opened the 2019-2020 season with a strong fall season as he finished runner-up at the ITA Regional and earned an At-Large berth to the ITA Cup.  The junior won his first three matches at the ITA Cup, including a straight-set win over fourth-seed Bruno Pessoa of Warner, to advance to the championship match. That performance helped Barbier end the fall season as the second-ranked singles player in the NAIA, the highest a Patriot has ever been ranked in program history. Barbier was on pace for another strong season in the spring when play was halted due to CoVID-19. He had recorded a 7-2 singles record and an 8-1 doubles record when the season was called.  In singles play, Martin posted six straight wins, including a 6-2, 6-4 win over then 11th-ranked Lois Castellon of Union.  The Banoub/Barbier tandem opened the season with eight straight wins at #1 doubles to become UC’s first doubles team to be ranked in the ITA ranking, where they finished the year ranked 17th.  Cumberlands notched a 6-3 record and was ranked 13th in the NAIA Coaches’ Poll, while Barbier was named an ITA Singles All-American, MSC Player of the Week twice, and a CoSIDA All-District Selection.

Barbier will return to Cumberlands in Fall 2020 for his senior season. He is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Biology with a minor in Psychology. 

The UC All-Decade Team was determined based on stats, awards & honors received, and significance to the program in addition to input for members of the UC Athletic Department. It will include one representative from every sport and be comprised of 29 student-athletes. The all-decade team looked at everything from the 2010-2011 season through the 2019-2020 season.