.png&width=100&height=100&type=webp)
Liberty University
UC Riverside
Liberty Closes California Trip with a Victory
3/10/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
The Liberty Flames tennis squad closed its West Coast trip with a convincing 5-2 victory over UC Riverside at the SRC Tennis Courts in Riverside, Calif.
The Flames improved to 6-7 on the campaign, snapping the Highlanders' four-match winning streak to move UC Riverside to 8-9 overall.
Sam Matheson and Egon Samaai started the contest off on a strong note for the Flames, defeating Julian Ruffin and Sean Yun, 6-3, in the No. 1 doubles slot.
David Bush and Diego Castano clinched the doubles point for Liberty after the sophomore doubles tandem bested Hans Baumstark and Jack Felich, 6-4.
Eddie Gutierrez and Alex Poynter triumphed in a tight-knit doubles match from the No. 2 slot, pulling ahead of Kyle McCann and Marcus Vizcarra, 7-6(6).
Matheson continues to provide the spark for Liberty at the top of its singles lineup, earning his 11th singles victory of the season to improve to 11-0. The New Zealand native cruised past Ruffin in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2.
The Highlanders cut the 2-0 deficit in half when Yun defeated Samaai in the No. 2 singles position, 6-4, 6-3. UC Riverside would not come any closer.
Castano extended the lead back to two after defeating Calvin Ngo by a score of 6-4, 6-1 from the No. 4 singles position.
Bush clinched the match for the Flames. The Kentucky native stepped from the No. 6 singles spot to defeat Felich in straight sets, 6-2, 7-5.
Liberty and UC Riverside split the final two singles matches to bring the final score to a 5-2 advantage in favor of the Flames. Gutierrez notched the final win of the evening for Liberty, besting McCann in three sets, 6-1, 5-7, 6-3.
Liberty returns to action on March 19 when the Flames host Winthrop at 2 p.m. in a Big South showdown at the Cook Tennis Center.
Liberty 5, UC Riverside 2
Doubles
- Matheson/Samaai (LU) def. Ruffin/Yun (UCR), 6-3
- Gutierrez/Poynter (LU) def. McCann/Vizcarra (UCR), 7-6(8-6)
- Bush/Castano (LU) def. Baumstark/Felich (UCR), 6-4
Singles
- Matheson (LU) def. Ruffin (UCR), 6-1, 6-2
- Yun (UCR) def. Samaai (LU), 6-4, 6-3
- Gutierrez (LU) def. McCann (UCR), 6-1, 5-7, 6-3
- Castano (LU) def. Ngo (UCR), 6-4, 6-1
- Ju (UCR) def. Borcuti (LU), 6-4, 7-6(7-4)
- Bush (LU) def. Felich (UCR), 6-2, 7-5
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,3,2
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
1,2,4,6,3,5