Liberty University
Longhorn Invitational Day 2
Wilson and Gutierrez Win Doubles Title at Longhorn Invitational
11/10/2018 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
The Liberty doubles team of freshman Josh Wilson and senior Eddie Gutierrez won their Longhorn Invitational doubles flight on Saturday at the Texas Tennis Center.
In addition to Wilson and Gutierrez's success, the Flames posted a 9-2 combined record (5-1 doubles, 4-1 singles) on day two of competition after winning five total matches on the first day of play.
"Congrats to Eddie and Josh on winning the doubles title. We've been working hard on our doubles skills," stated Liberty Men's Tennis Head Coach Derek Schwandt. "I was impressed with our team's fight and intensity today."
Wilson and Gutierrez went 3-0 over the last two days in doubles matches in winning the Flight D Gold draw. Two of those victories came today, with an 8-4 win over Tyler Junior College's Karl Mosterd and Luke Simkiss which sent the Flames' duo to the final.
In the title match, Wilson and Gutierrez topped Luis Heredia Gomez and Alvaro Verdu of the Marquette Golden Eagles by an 8-5 margin for their first doubles championship together. The pairing leads all Flames doubles teams with six wins, this fall.
In singles, Wilson saw his run in the Flight C Gold division halted in the semifinals with a setback to Iowa's Joe Tyler (6-1, 6-3). Despite the loss, Wilson is 2-1 in singles this weekend and 5-1 overall.
Liberty's doubles unit of sophomore Nicaise Muamba and Chase Burton also posted two wins on Saturday. They first defeated Francisco Bastias and Tatsuki Shimamoto of Miami, 8-6, followed by a thrilling tiebreaker triumph against LSU's Joey Thomas and Nick Watson, 8-7 (4).
Both Muamba and Burton prevailed in singles as well. Muamba ousted Tyler's Simkiss 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 for his team-best 10th singles win in the fall. Burton upended UCF's Vasyl Kiselyov in a three-set match (4-6, 6-4, 6-3).
Flames freshman Ian Sturgill rolled to a straight-sets victory (6-0, 6-3) against his counterpart, Justin Bloss of Texas Tech.
Liberty first-year player Farid Juri improved to 2-0 in singles play this weekend with a 6-4, 6-2 decision over Miami's Stephen Madonia.
Juri and Sturgill picked up a doubles win, 8-6, against Johnny Goodwin (Texas) and Ruy Teixeira (LSU).
Day three of the Longhorn Invitational will begin at 10 a.m. Eastern in Austin, Texas. Live video for the event is available at https://texassports.com/sports/2018/2/8/texas-tennis-center-live-video.aspx, with updated scores for tomorrow accessible at http://www.r2sports.com/website/division-list.asp?TID=30066&sortBy=defaultOrder.
