Flames Open Hilton Head Stay with Victory

The Flames shook off its Big South opening loss to Winthrop by sweeping Manhattanville, 7-0, on Monday afternoon, in the first of several Spring Break matches to be played in the Hilton Head area.

With the victory, the Flames up their season record to 8-4, thanks to winning four out of their last five matches. The loss drops the Valiants below the .500 mark for the second time this year, to 2-3.

Liberty quickly swept through the doubles matches, winning at both No. 1 and No. 2, 8-2, and at No. 3, 8-3. The tandem of Clay Cypert and Giancarlo Lemmi claimed its fourth-straight victory with the first six-game victory over Imran Choudry and Michael Capozzi at No. 1 doubles.

Gregorio Machado and Chad Simpson picked up their fourth doubles win of the season with a second 8-2 Liberty doubles victory over Lance Dorfi and Julian Oribe at No. 2. Louis Steyn and Juan Reyes needed an extra game at No. 3 doubles over Dean Tahir and Hugo Robinson, completing the doubles sweep.

Three of the singles matchups proved quite easy for the Flames, while the remaining trio of contests went down to the wire.

Cypert got a true test at No. 1 singles, needing three sets to down Oribe, 6-2, 6-7 (0-5), 1-0 (2-0), to give Liberty the early singles lead.

Steyn followed with another struggle at No. 2 singles, eventually dispensing of Choudry, 7-5, in the first set and 6-0 in the second to seal his team-leading seventh singles win of the year.

The remaining challenge came at No. 4 singles, as Lemmi dropped the opening set, 7-5, before rallying for a 6-4, 1-0 (5-0) victory over Capozzi in three.

The No. 3, No. 5 and No. 6 singles matchups were polar opposites to the previously mentioned trio, as Liberty only dropped one game during the collection of three contests.

Simpson and Machado dominated Dorfi and Tahir, 6-0, 6-0, respectively, at No. 3 and No. 5 singles, while Reyes dropped a single game to Robinson, 6-0, 6-1, at No. 6 singles.

The Flames will remain in the Hilton Head area, tomorrow when they continue their annual Spring Break tournament stay by squaring off against North Carolina Central.

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Flames Open Hilton Head Stay with Victory

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