Liberty University
USC Upstate
Liberty Men's Tennis Rolls Past USC Upstate, 4-0
2/10/2018 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
With four victories in singles (No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, No. 6) on Saturday, Flames men's tennis rolled to a 4-0 victory against USC Upstate at UNCW Tennis Courts.
Liberty moves to 3-4 with the victory and 2-0 in neutral-site matches in 2018. USC Upstate falls to 1-4 with the setback.
"Today was a strong showing by our guys. We came out with a ton of energy and managed to jump out to a quick start," stated Liberty assistant coach Egon Samaai. "This performance was a big step towards building our team culture."
The Flames and Spartans elected to play singles first. Following Liberty's four victories, all in straight sets, doubles were not contested. Saturday's contest was the first-ever meeting between the two schools. USC Upstate will join the Big South as a full member for the 2018-19 school year.
Flames junior Eddie Gutierrez made quick work of his match against Ankush Arora, winning 6-0, 6-2 on court three. Gutierrez is now 3-0 in the No. 3 position, this spring.
Senior Sam Matheson also won in straight sets (6-3, 6-1), knocking off USC Upstate's No. 1 player Francisco Neto. Matheson's triumph brought the Liberty lead to 2-0.
Fellow senior Diego Castano topped Luka Eble, 6-3, 6-2 on court six. The Statesville, N.C., native's win boosted the Flames' lead to 3-0.
Flames sophomore Chase Burton ended the match with his straight-set (6-4, 6-4) victory against his opponent, Felix Ewers.
Liberty led the other two matches on the court prior to the stoppage. Sophomore Vince Salas led Ignacio Garrido, 5-2, in the third set. Junior Alex Poynter held a 2-1 advantage in his third set with Fernando Bernades.
Liberty will make the journey north to face in-state foe Virginia (3-3) on Sunday. First serve is slated for 5 p.m. at Boar's Head Sports Club.
Team Stats
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1,6,2