Liberty University
Radford
Lady Flames Notch Record-Setting 16th Victory
4/1/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
The Liberty Lady Flames tennis squad etched its name further into the Liberty record books with the Lady Flames' program record-setting 16th win in a single season on Wednesday afternoon. Liberty defeated Radford, 6-1, at the Hershey-Esbenshade Tennis Courts in the Lady Flames' final home match of the season.
With the victory, Liberty improved to 16-3 on the season, including a 6-1 mark in Big South action. The Lady Flames eclipsed the previous program standard of 15 victories, set in 2009, 2011 and 2014. Radford falls to 4-10 on the season with a Big South record of 1-6.
The Lady Flames notched a victory in the first doubles match of the afternoon, when Evangeline Crist and Valerie Thong bested Taylor Fay and Taylor Newman, 8-1 from the No. 2 doubles position.
Maria Khval and Brittany Yang clinched the doubles point for Liberty when the duo defeated Natalie Sayer and Gemma Valls, 8-5 to take the 1-0 advantage for the red and blue.
Emily Groeneveld and Belen Rivera delivered the clean sweep in doubles action after defeating Grace Sarver and Meg Napolitano, 8-4 from the No. 3 doubles position.
Nicola Wellman pushed the Liberty lead to 2-0 after defeating Napolitano in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1.
Shortly after, Khval extended the lead to 3-0, setting up the Lady Flames for their record-setting victory. The Belarus sophomore downed Sayer in straight sets from the No. 2 singles slot, 6-2, 6-1.
Liberty's final home contest was clinched when Yang delivered a straight set victory over Fay. The senior cruised past Fay, 6-2, 6-2 from the No. 4 singles position to give Liberty the 4-0 advantage.
With the match already in hand, the Lady Flames claimed victories in two of the final three matches to solidify the 6-1 victory.
Rivera earned a straight set victory from the No. 1 singles slot to extend the Lady Flames' lead to 5-0 after cruising past Newman, 6-4, 6-3.
Groeneveld notched a victory from the No. 6 singles position to push the Liberty advantage to 6-0. The sophomore transfer from East Carolina defeated Sarver in three sets, 3-6, 6-3, 10-8.
Valls recorded the Highlanders' only point of the contest when she defeated Crist in three sets, 6-4, 3-6, 10-5.
Liberty will return to action Friday when the Lady Flames travel to Rock Hill, S.C. to take on the Winthrop Eagles at 11 a.m. Liberty will then conclude its Big South action on Saturday as the Lady Flames take on the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs at noon in Boiling Springs, N.C.
Liberty 6, Radford 1
Doubles
- Khval/Yang (LU) def. Sayer/Valls (RU), 8-5
- Crist/Thong (LU) def. Fay/Newman (RU), 8-1
- Groeneveld/Rivera (LU) def. Sarver/Napolitano (RU), 8-4
Singles
- Rivera (LU) def. Newman (RU), 6-4, 6-3
- Khval (LU) def. Sayer (RU), 6-2, 6-1
- Valls (RU) def. Crist (LU), 6-4, 3-6, 10-5
- Yang (LU) def. Fay (RU), 6-2, 6-2
- Wellman (LU) def. Napolitano (RU), 6-1, 6-1
- Groeneveld (LU) def. Sarver (RU), 3-6, 6-3, 10-8
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1,3
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
5,2,4,1,6,3