Liberty University
St. Mary's
Flames Down Rattlers in Second Game of Doubleheader
3/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
The Liberty Flames men's tennis squad extended its winning streak to four matches by defeating the St. Mary's Rattlers, 8-1, in San Antonio, Texas. With the win, the Flames improve to 8-4 on the season while the Rattlers fall to 4-4.
The Liberty pairing of co-captain Dillon Segur and Diego Castano bounced back from a doubles loss earlier in the evening, defeating Brien Galon and Matt Banner, 8-5, from the No. 1 doubles slot to open the contest. Jorge Azuero and Sam Matheson took care of their opponents in No. 2 doubles, 8-3.
St. Mary's captured their lone point of the contest from the No. 3 doubles position when Joshua Mosseri and Richard Foley defeated Egon Samaai and Josiah Boda, 9-7.
Liberty swept through singles competition by claiming each of the six matches. Segur began singles play with a strong showing against Dockery, 7-6 (4), 6-1, to put the Flames ahead by a score of 3-1.
Matheson delivered more breathing space for the red and blue by defeating Maldonado in three sets. The New Zealand native dropped the first set, 6-3, but recovered in the second set, 6-2, to set up the dramatic third set. With the two battling back and forth, Matheson refused to allow the point to slip away as he pulled ahead for good to win the third set by a score of 6-4, giving the Flames the 4-1 advantage.
Samaai clinched the match by besting Roberto Rodriguez in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, to push the lead up to four with three matches left.
With the match in hand, Liberty won the final three singles contests. Azuero and Burgess won in straight sets from the No. 4 and 6 slots, respectively.
The Rattlers chance of a final point came to a close when Castano shut the door on Luke Keller in the third set. After falling in the first set, 6-1, Liberty's standout freshman returned the favor by beating Keller in the second set, 6-1. Much like Matheson's matchup, the two battled toe-to-toe in the third set, before Castano pulled away to win 7-5, giving the Flames the 8-1 final score.
Liberty returns to action on Thursday when the Flames conclude their Texas road trip with a matchup against host Texas at San Antonio. The contest is slated to begin at 3 p.m. ET at the UTSA Tennis Center.
Liberty 8, St. Mary's 1
Doubles
- Segur/Castano (LU) def. Galon/Banner (SMU), 8-5
- Azuero/Matheson (LU) def. Dockery/Maldonado (SMU), 8-3
- Mosseri/Foley (SMU) def. Samaai/Boda (LU), 9-7
Singles
- Segur (LU) def. Dockery (SMU) 7-6 (4), 6-1
- Matheson (LU) def. Maldonado (SMU), 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
- Samaai (LU) def. Rodriguez (SMU), 6-3, 6-4
- Azuero (LU) def. Banner (SMU), 6-2, 6-0
- Castano (LU) def. Keller (SMU), 1-6, 6-1, 7-5
- Burgess (LU) def. Foley (SMU), 6-4, 6-2
