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Liberty University
Gardner-Webb
Flames Fall to Runnin' Bulldogs, Friday
4/1/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
The Liberty Flames men's tennis squad fell to Gardner-Webb on Friday afternoon by the final score of 4-3 at the Sports Racket.
With the loss, Liberty falls to 9-9 overall, including 3-3 in Big South action. Gardner-Webb improves to 3-3 in conference play and 9-9 overall.
Gardner-Webb claimed the doubles point, posting wins from the No. 1 and No. 3 doubles positions. The Runnin' Bulldogs clinched the doubles point after Maximilian Scholl and Nikita Zverkov bested David Bush and Diego Castano from the No. 1 doubles slot, 7-6(7-3).
Egon Samaai and Jason Burgess collected the lone Liberty doubles victory from the No. 2 slot after defeating Jonathan Walker and Paul Hogan, 6-4.
Samaai delivered the equalizer to begin singles competition for the Flames. The South Africa native bested Zverkov in straight sets from the No. 2 singles position, 6-4, 6-2. Samaai's victory marked his 72nd career tally, tying Giancarlo Lemmi for the third-most singles wins in program history. Samaai needs three more singles wins to pass Siim Tuus and become the program's all-time wins leader.
With the match tied at one apiece, Castano provided the Flames with their first lead of the match. The Statesville, N.C., native defeated Benjamin Kaszas in straight sets from the No. 4 slot, 6-4, 6-0.
Eddie Gutierrez notched Liberty's third consecutive singles victory to provide the Flames with a 3-1 edge over the Runnin' Bulldogs. The Mexico freshman bested Yaroslav Prostakov in straight sets from the No. 3 singles slot, 6-3, 6-4.
With Liberty in the driver's seat, Gardner-Webb claimed a critical victory from the top of the lineup as Scholl upset Sam Matheson in straight sets, 7-5, 6-1, cutting the deficit to one. Matheson, who is currently ranked No. 106 in the country, had his 15-match win streak snapped and falls to 15-1 on the year.
The Runnin' Bulldogs used Scholl's victory to gain momentum and even the contest at 3-3 after Adam Schmidt bested Alex Poynter in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3 from the No. 5 singles position.
With the match deadlocked at three, drama was sure to unfold with one final match remaining. Bush and Walker squared off in the No. 6 singles slot with the match on the line as Bush squeaked by Walker in the first frame, 7-5. However, Walker rebounded in the second set to defeat Bush, 6-3 after winning the last four games. With the final set tied at 3-3, Walker claimed three of the final four games to win the third set, 6-4 and the match 4-3.
Liberty will return to action on Wednesday when the Flames travel to Conway, S.C., to take on Coastal Carolina at 2 p.m. The Flames will then close out their regular season schedule with a Big South finale on Thursday in Buies Creek, N.C., when Liberty squares off against Campbell at 2 p.m.
Gardner-Webb 4, Liberty 3
Doubles
- Scholl/Zverkov (GWU) def. Bush/Castano (LU), 7-6(3)
- Burgess/Samaai (LU) def. Walker/Hogan (GWU), 6-4
- Kaszas/Prostakov (GWU) def. Gutierrez/Poynter (LU), 6-4
Singles
- Scholl (GWU) def. No. 106 Matheson (LU), 7-5, 6-1
- Samaai (LU) def. Zverkov (GWU), 6-4, 6-2
- Gutierrez (LU) def. Prostakov (GWU), 6-3, 6-4
- Castano (LU) def. Kaszas (GWU), 6-4, 6-0
- Schmidt (GWU) def. Poynter (LU), 6-4, 6-3
- Walker (GWU) def. Bush (LU), 5-7, 6-3, 6-4
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,2,1
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
2,4,3,1,5,6