Liberty University
Liberty Fall Hidden Dual
Flames Battle Nittany Lions, Win 5 Matches on First Day of Hidden Dual
11/5/2021 11:17:00 PM | Men's Tennis
The Liberty Flames men's tennis team took on the Penn State Nittany Lions on the first day of the Liberty Fall Hidden Dual, Friday evening at the Liberty Indoor Tennis Center.
The Flames emerged with five victories in 12 total matches against the Nittany Lions. Liberty split four doubles matches with Penn State. The Nittany Lions won five of the eight singles matches to finish 7-5 overall against the Flames.
Key Stats & Notes
• The Flames' No. 1 and No. 4 doubles teams collected victories this evening. Liberty's top duo, Deji Thomas-Smith and Christiaan Worst, topped Penn State's Charl Morgan and Miko Eala 6-4. They lead the Flames with four doubles victories, this fall.
• The No. 4 Flames duo of Goncalo Ferreira and Omar El Kadi picked up their first win together. The pairing got past Ismail Saadi and Chikaya Sato by a 7-5 score.
• Liberty's three singles players to win were Josh Wilson (No. 1), Deji Thomas-Smith (No. 4) and Zion Heaven (No. 7). Wilson continued his strong fall campaign with a two-set win (6-1, 6-4) against Sato. The Flames junior leads the team with 11 singles wins.
• Thomas-Smith played a lengthy three-set contest against Morgan, prevailing 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (4).
• Heaven traded sets with Saadi before taking the third and the match, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.
Up Next
Day two of the Liberty Fall Hidden Dual will pit Liberty and Penn against each other. Match time is 4 p.m. at the Liberty Indoor Tennis Center.
Remaining Schedule
Saturday
11 a.m. – Penn State vs. Old Dominion | Liberty Indoor Tennis Center
4 p.m. – Penn State vs. Penn | Liberty Tennis Complex Stadium Courts (one match)
4 p.m. – Liberty vs. Penn | Liberty Indoor Tennis Center
Sunday
9 a.m. – Penn vs. Penn State | Liberty Indoor Tennis Center
2 p.m. – Liberty vs. Old Dominion | Liberty Indoor Tennis Center
Players Mentioned
