Liberty University
Cal Poly
Lady Flames Cruise Past Mustangs
3/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
The Liberty Lady Flames tennis squad notched its fifth consecutive victory for the second time this year, defeating Cal Poly, 5-2, on Thursday.
The win upped Liberty's record to 12-2 on the season, following the Lady Flames' 10th victory in its last 11 matches.
Today's match proved to be a tough one as the Lady Flames have to battle the Mustangs, along with a constant headstrong wind.
Cal Poly began the match with a doubles victory from the No. 1 slot when Dane Joubert and Louise Oxnevad bested Maria Khval and Brittany Yang, 6-1.
Knowing the difficulty of winning a match after dropping the doubles point, the Lady Flames buckled down to win the next two doubles matches to take the early 1-0 advantage.
Valerie Thong and Evangeline Crist teamed up together to even the doubles battle after defeating Hannah Stone and Emily Gibbens, 6-2, from the No. 2 doubles position.
The final doubles match proved to be an uphill battle for Liberty, but one that the squad would overcome. Down 5-1 in the set against Molly Reed and Sayaka Tsugai, Mariely Hassey and Emily Groeneveld caught fire for the Lady Flames. The doubles tandem fought back to even the score at 6-6 heading into the tiebreaker. The Liberty duo captured the doubles point by pulling ahead in the tiebreaker 7-4 in the final game to win the set, 7-6.
The Mustangs tied the match up with a 6-1, 6-3 victory from the No. 1 singles slot when Oxnevad bested Hassey.
Liberty reclaimed the lead thanks to Belen Rivera winning in a hard fought three-set match. After cruising past Gibbens 6-0 in the first set, Rivera stumbled in the second set, losing by a score of 6-4. However, the Bolivian native rebounded in the third set to win 6-3 and place the Lady Flames back on top, 2-1.
Cal Poly seized the No. 3 singles slot when Reed rallied to defeat Khval, 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 to even the score back at two apiece.
Despite allowing the Mustangs to even the score up for the second time, Liberty finished the final three singles matches with a 3-0 mark. Freshman standout, Crist, placed the red and blue back on top after defeating Zoe Oedekerk in straight sets, 6-2, 7-5.
Groeneveld clinched the match for the Lady Flames when she cruised past Joubert from the No. 5 hole. The East Carolina transfer won the first set, 6-1, and remained poised to win the second set by a score of 6-4.
Senior Nicola Wellman capped off the contest with an eventful three-set victory. Wellman defeated Tsugai in the first set, 6-1, only to fall in the second set by a score of 6-0. The Florida native then regrouped to best Tsugai by a score of 6-4 in the third set.
"Today's conditions were very difficult for both teams," stated head coach Jeff Maren. "The wind was extreme and so it boiled down to who was more mentally sound. The girls played the key points well, which made the difference in the end."
The Lady Flames return to action on March 21 when they host Charleston Southern with a chance to begin conference play with a 3-0 mark. The contest is slated to begin at 11 a.m.
Liberty 5, Cal Poly 2
Doubles
- Joubert/Oxnevad (CP) def. Khval/Yang (LU), 6-1
- Crist/Thong (LU) def. Stone/Gibbens (CP), 6-2
- Hassey/Groeneveld (LU) def. Reed/Tsugai (CP), 7-6 (4)
Singles
- Oxnevad (CP) def. Hassey (LU), 6-1, 6-3
- Rivera (LU) def. Gibbens (CP), 6-0, 4-6, 6-3
- Reed (CP) def. Khval (LU), 2-6, 6-2, 6-1
- Crist (LU) def. Oedekerk (CP), 6-2, 7-5
- Groeneveld (LU) def. Joubert (CP), 6-1, 6-4
- Wellman (LU) def. Tsugai (CP), 6-1, 0-6, 6-4
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match