Liberty University
ITA Atlantic Regional
Thomas-Smith and Worst Collect Round of 32 Singles Wins on Day 1 of Regional
10/15/2021 7:49:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Liberty's Deji Thomas-Smith and Christiaan Worst picked up singles round of 32 victories on the first day of competition at the ITA Atlantic South Regional, Friday at the Liberty Tennis Complex.
Thomas-Smith and Worst both advance to the round of 16 and need one more win each to qualify for next weekend's ITA Atlantic Super Regional at Old Dominion. Thomas, the No. 12 seed, defeated Old Dominion's Michael Walser in straight sets (6-2, 6-1).
Worst, the No. 14 seed, moved past Virginia Tech's Sean Sculley and into the round of 16. The Flames junior lost the opening set 6-2 to Sculley before winning the second set 6-4. Sculley retired due to injury after dropping set two, giving Worst the victory.
Key Stats & Notes
• Thomas-Smith will square off with Finbar Talcott of William & Mary, Saturday at 9 a.m. Worst's round of 16 match will be versus No. 3 seed Holden Koons of James Madison.
• The Flames won two additional singles matches on Friday to finish with a 4-3 record. Josh Wilson bested William & Mary's George Davis 6-3, 6-2 in an extra match.
• Omar El Kadi of the Flames won a backdraw match, 6-3, 6-1, over Longwood's Luis Reis. El Kadi was 1-1 on the day. He dropped his first match to William & Mary's Chen Ruo in two sets (6-1, 6-3).
• No. 11 seed Thando Longwe-Smit was edged in three sets by ODU's Oliver Nolan, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8), in the round of 32.
• Liberty did not compete in doubles today. The Flames will have two duos compete in the doubles round of 16 tomorrow – Josh Wilson/Rafael Marques Da Silva and Omar El Kadi/Thando Longwe-Smit.
• Wilson and Marques Da Silva, the No. 2 seed, will take on Ryan Bernstine and Matt Harper of Virginia Tech on Saturday at 9 a.m. El Kadi and Longwe-Smit will meet Old Dominion's Yevhen Sirous and Oliver Tobisch in the round of 16, tomorrow at 10 a.m.
Up Next
Tomorrow's day two of the ITA Atlantic South Regional will features two rounds of doubles and one round of singles to see who will qualify for the Super Regional.
Remaining Schedule
Saturday, Oct. 16 | 9 a.m. start
Doubles Round of 16
Doubles Quarterfinals
Singles Round of 16
Extra Matches
Sunday, Oct. 17
Makeup date if needed
