Flames Tennis Sets Sights on Final 2 ASUN Matches Against FGCU, NJIT
4/10/2019 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Live Video: Liberty at NJIT
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Liberty will close out its regular season with a pair of ASUN road matches on Thursday and Saturday at Florida Gulf Coast and NJIT.
The Flames tennis team (11-9) is currently 5-0 in the ASUN and shares first place with Thursday's opponent, FGCU (10-8, 5-0 ASUN). First serve between the Flames and Eagles will take place at 5 p.m. at the FGCU Tennis Complex in Fort Myers, Fla. Both teams carry five-match winning streaks into the contest.
A win on Thursday would give Liberty a share of the ASUN regular-season crown. Liberty would clinch the outright regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the ASUN Championship with victories against both FGCU and NJIT. The 2019 ASUN Men's Tennis Championship will take place from April 18-20 at Stetson's Mandy Stoll Tennis Center in DeLand, Fla.
The Flames will square off with the NJIT Highlanders (4-14, 0-6 ASUN), Saturday at noon at the Naomili Family Athletic and Recreational Facility (indoor courts) in Newark, N.J.
Liberty and Florida Gulf Coast will be meeting for the second time but first as ASUN Conference members. The Eagles topped the Flames 6-1 in a neutral-site match in Miami, Fla., in 2015.
Liberty is 2-0 all-time against NJIT. The teams last squared off in 2012, a 5-2 neutral-site victory for the Flames in Orlando, Fla.
How to Follow the Flames
There will be no live scoring for either match. However, the Florida Gulf Coast Twitter account, @FGCU_MTEN, will feature updates throughout Thursday's match. On Saturday, NJIT Athletics will feature a live stream of the match through PlaySight. Find the links on the schedule page of LibertyFlames.com/menstennis.
Flames News and Notes
- Liberty is 5-0 in conference play for the first time in program history. In 2018 and 2019 under head coach Derek Schwandt, the Flames have started 4-0 or better in league play for the first two times in Liberty men's tennis history.
- Senior captain Eddie Gutierrez was tabbed the ASUN Men's Tennis Player of the Week on Wednesday, his first recognition this season. Gutierrez secured two match-clinching points for the Flames in home victories over Stetson and North Florida, last week.
- The Flames have featured an ASUN Conference-high six player of the week honorees this spring in their first year in the league. Sophomore Nicaise Muamba has four of those player of the week recognitions, while Gutierrez and freshman Josh Wilson have one each.
- Muamba is currently ranked No. 121 in the nation in singles by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). He has appeared in the rankings five times this spring and is the only ASUN player listed in the top-125 in the country.
- Gutierrez had a memorable point which was featured as the No. 3 play on ESPN's SportsCenter Top 10 Plays listing, last Saturday night and Sunday morning. In addition to its usage on SportsCenter, the play has been shown on several major tennis social media accounts, including Tennis TV, Tennis Channel and the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA).
- Wilson sports a five-match singles winning streak and is a team-best 15-5 in singles, this spring. Muamba has won four straight singles contests and leads all Flames with 24 victories during the 2018-19 campaign.
- The Flames have not lost since March 14, a 6-1 setback at No. 29 Arizona.
