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Liberty University
No. 2 seed Winthrop
Lady Flames Fall Short in Big South Title Match
4/18/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
The No. 1 seed Liberty Lady Flames tennis squad fell to No. 2 seed Winthrop in the 2016 Big South Women's Tennis Championship title match by the final score of 4-3, Monday at the Cook Tennis Center.
With the loss, Liberty concludes the season with an overall record of 15-10. No. 70 Winthrop, the Big South's automatic qualifier to the 2016 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championship, improves to 20-5.
The Eagles jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead after claiming the doubles point from the Lady Flames. Winthrop at won the No. 1 and No. 3 doubles positions, 6-2, 6-3 to gain the early advantage.
However, Liberty did not back down, winning the next three singles matches to claim a 3-1 advantage. Maria Khval bested the Big South Freshman and Player of the Year Lauren Proctor in straight sets from the No. 1 singles slot, 6-0, 6-3. Khval's victory knotted the contest at one apiece.
Senior Belen Rivera delivered the lead in favor of the Lady Flames from the No. 4 singles position. The Bolivia native ousted Caitlin Cridland in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4 to provide Liberty with a 2-1 advantage.
The Lady Flames saw their lead double to two when Valerie Thong earned a straight-set victory over Megan Kaufmann in the No. 6 singles slot. Thong bested Kaufmann 7-5, 6-2 to boost the Liberty lead to 3-1.
With the advantage and momentum in favor of the Lady Flames, Winthrop reached back and found the extra level of play needed to come away with the victory. The Eagles received a straight-set victory from the No. 2 singles slot, followed by a three-set win in the No. 3 singles position to even the match at three apiece.
The final point came down to the No. 5 singles contest between Tijana Uzelac and Mariely Hassey. Liberty's Hassey claimed the first set 6-4, before falling 6-2 in the second frame. After battling back-and-forth in the final set, Hassey broke Uzelac's serve to take a 5-4 advantage in the final frame. Uzelac then returned the favor by breaking Hassey's serve to deadlock the set at 5-5. The Winthrop senior then displayed poise, winning the next two games to claim the final set 7-5 and the match 4-3 in favor of the Eagles.
No. 70 Winthrop 4, Liberty 3
Doubles
- Proctor/Humberg (WU) def. Thong/Crist (LU), 6-2
- Dollar/Khval (LU) vs. Cridland/Kaufmann (WU), 2-5, unfinished
- Garcia/Uzelac (WU) def. Panchenko/Anderson (LU), 6-3
Singles
- Khval (LU) def. Proctor (WU), 6-0, 6-3
- Garcia (WU) def. Dollar (LU), 6-3, 7-6(1)
- Humberg (WU) def. Crist (LU), 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
- Rivera (LU) def. Cridland (WU), 6-2, 6-4
- Uzelac (WU) def. Hassey (LU), 4-6, 6-2, 7-5
- Thong (LU) def. Kaufmann (WU), 7-5, 6-2
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,3
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
1,4,6,2,3,5