Liberty University
Hampton
Crist Sets New Singles Wins Record, Liberty Prevails, 7-0, Over Hampton
4/8/2018 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Liberty senior captain Evangeline Crist set a new program record with her 88th singles victory, and the Lady Flames shut out the Hampton Lady Pirates, 7-0, on Sunday morning at Crosswhite Athletic Club.
Crist now holds both program records for singles and doubles victories, after setting the new singles program record today, and breaking the doubles mark with her 91st victory earlier this week (Tuesday) at Longwood. Her record-breaking singles triumph came in dominating fashion, 6-0, 6-0, over the Lady Pirates' Haley Mullins in the No. 4 singles position.
"It was another successful match to get us ready for what's to come. The girls are so supportive of one another and fight for each point because of how much we care for one another, and I think that's what has made us successful thus far," Crist said. "The team and coaches have been nothing but encouraging of me in reaching my goals, and I couldn't be more proud to set an example for all the girls!"
Crist surpasses former Lady Flame Jordan Jenkins (2008-11), who held the Liberty women's tennis program record for nearly seven years. She is now 21-8 in singles in 2017-18 and has won 11 straight matches en route to being No. 1 in career singles victories. Crist's singles win totals from her four-year Liberty career are as follows: 21 (2017-18), 17 (2016-17), 25 (2015-16) and 25 (2014-15).
The Lady Flames are now 14-8 overall and have won four straight matches. Liberty wraps up its home portion of the spring 2018 slate with a 10-2 record. Sunday's victory marked their eighth victory of the year by a 7-0 score. Hampton, who will join the Big South Conference starting during the 2018-19 academic year, drops to 4-6 overall.
Liberty won all 15 sets contested in the match. Every Lady Flames doubles units won at least 6-2 over Hampton, and each singles match was decided in straight sets.
In doubles, Liberty's No. 2 unit of Maria Medina and Lara Soares rolled to a 6-0 win versus Kiah Turner and Julia D'auvergne. Crist and her partner Anna Dollar (No. 1 doubles) topped Mariam Mitaishvili and Yulia Kapitanova, 6-2, wrapping up the doubles point and making it 1-0, Liberty. Crist, who is 18-6 in doubles during her senior campaign, now has 92 doubles victories for her career.
The Lady Flames' Grace Hashiguchi and Nasha Ghajar, playing for the first time together all year, defeated the Lady Pirates' Mullins and Ana Romanova, 6-1, completing the doubles sweep.
Liberty junior Ashley Bongart, along with her teammate Crist, did not lose a game in singles. The Bradenton, Fla., native took down Mitaishvili, 6-0, 6-0, in the No. 1 singles match. Moments later, Crist closed out her 6-0, 6-0 win against her counterpart, Mullins. Crist overcame a 40-30 deficit in the final game, winning a deuce point for the record-breaking victory. Liberty led, 3-0, following the wins from Bongart and Crist.
Lady Flames freshman Polina Miroshnichenko had no trouble in her match on court five against the Lady Pirates' Romanova in a 6-2, 6-1 victory. The Russia native's triumph officially sealed the match and made it, 4-0, in favor of Liberty.
Liberty's No. 2 singles player, Maria Medina, trailed, 3-2, early in her match with Kapitanova but took 10 of the last 12 games for a 6-4, 6-1 win. Rebekah Anderson of the Lady Flames battled for a first-set 7-5 win over Turner on court four and then went on to win the second, 6-3. The Fullerton, Calif., native's 7-5, 6-3 decision bolstered the Liberty lead to 6-0.
Liberty's Grace Hashiguchi, playing in the No. 6 slot, won both her sets by a 6-2 count against Hampton's D'auvergne. Her 6-2, 6-2 win settled the final outcome at 7-0 for the Lady Flames.
Liberty will close out its regular-season slate on the road at Radford on Tuesday and at Marshall on Thursday.
Liberty 7, Hampton University 0
Singles competition
1. BONGART, Ashley (LIBERTYW) def. MITAISHVILI, Mariam (HAM-W) 6-0, 6-0
2. MEDINA, Maria (LIBERTYW) def. KAPITANOVA, Yulia (HAM-W) 6-4, 6-1
3. ANDERSON, Rebekah (LIBERTYW) def. TURNER, Kiah (HAM-W) 7-5, 6-3
4. CRIST, Evangeline (LIBERTYW) def. MULLINS, Haley (HAM-W) 6-0, 6-0
5. MIROSHNICHENKO, P. (LIBERTYW) def. ROMANOVA, Ana (HAM-W) 6-2, 6-1
6. HASHIGUCHI, Grace (LIBERTYW) def. D'AUVERGNE, Julia (HAM-W) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. CRIST, Evangeline/DOLLAR, Anna (LIBERTYW) def. MITAISHVILI, Mariam/KAPITANOVA, Yulia (HAM-W) 6-2
2. MEDINA, Maria/SOARES, Lara (LIBERTYW) def. TURNER, Kiah/D'AUVERGNE, Julia (HAM-W) 6-0
3. HASHIGUCHI, Grace/GHAJAR, Nasha (LIBERTYW) def. MULLINS, Haley/ROMANOVA, Ana (HAM-W) 6-1
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (1,4,5,2,3,6) Official: D Harrison/M Maynosh T-2:20
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1,3
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
1,4,5,2,3,6