Liberty University
Charleston Southern
Liberty Overcomes Early Deficit to Defeat Charleston Southern by 4-2 Score
3/12/2021 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Visiting Liberty overcame an early deficit to defeat former Big South rival Charleston Southern 4-2, Friday afternoon at the Gary Clark Banks Sr. Tennis Center.
The Buccaneers slipped past the Lady Flames in the doubles session for an early 1-0 advantage, but Liberty won four of the five singles matches (No. 2 singles went unfinished) on the way to victory.
The Lady Flames extend their winning streak to three matches and stand at 9-2 on the year. Charleston Southern is 3-4 after the setback and suffers its first loss since Feb. 21.
Liberty has now defeated CSU in back-to-back meetings. Prior to today's matchup, the Lady Flames and Buccaneers last met on March 24, 2018, a 6-1 Liberty victory.
Thoughts From Head Coach Jeff Maren
"CSU came out strong against us in doubles and were the more aggressive team. But we rebounded in singles and played with a strong determination to fight for every point. We may not have played perfectly, but our hearts and minds were strong. That made the difference. I'm really proud of Alex for hanging in there and finding a way to clinch it for us! She played with a lot of grit and just wouldn't give in."
Liberty 4, Charleston Southern 2
Singles Competition
1. Alexandra Almborg (LIBERTYW) def. MAN, Madalina (CHSO) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
2. FULLANA, Luiza (CHSO) vs. Tiffany Nguyen (LIBERTYW) 2-6, 6-1, 5-5, unfinished
3. Marina Davtyan (LIBERTYW) def. SINGH, Khyanna (CHSO) 6-0, 6-0
4. Esther Lovato (LIBERTYW) def. SCHMITZ, Michelle (CHSO) 6-2, 6-3
5. CAUTHEN, Zoe (CHSO) def. Micaela Ode Mitre (LIBERTYW) 6-3, 7-5
6. Eloise Saraty (LIBERTYW) def. KIRK, Tyler (CHSO) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles Competition
1. MAN, Madalina/SINGH, Khyanna (CHSO) def. Alexandra Almborg/Eloise Saraty (LIBERTYW) 6-3
2. CAUTHEN, Zoe/PYRITZ, Tiffany (CHSO) def. Tiffany Nguyen/Micaela Ode Mitre (LIBERTYW) 6-4
3. Marina Davtyan/Esther Lovato (LIBERTYW) def. FULLANA, Luiza/SCHMITZ, Michelle (CHSO) 6-3
Liberty 9-2
Charleston Southern 3-4
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (3,6,4,5,1)
T-3:05
How It Happened
• Charleston Southern claimed the first point of the match with victories on court one and two. The Buccaneers' Madalina Man and Khyanna Singh topped Liberty's No. 1 unit, Alexandra Almborg and Eloise Saraty, 6-3. CSU's Zoe Cauthen and Tiffany Pyritz handed Liberty's Tiffany Nguyen and Micaela Ode Mitre their second doubles loss of the season, 6-4 on court two for the doubles-clinching first point of the afternoon.
• Liberty's Marina Davtyan and Esther Lovato got past Michelle Schmitz and Luiza Fullana 6-3 in the No. 3 doubles contest. Davtyan and Lovato are 2-0 as a unit, this spring.
• After her doubles victory with Lovato, Davtyan put the Lady Flames on the scoreboard with a 6-0, 6-0 triumph over Singh on court three. Liberty's Saraty broke the 1-1 tie with a 6-2, 6-2 result over Tyler Kirk at No. 6 singles for the visitors' first lead of the day (2-1).
• Davtyan's doubles partner, Lovato, also claimed victory in straight sets (6-2, 6-3) against Schmitz in the No. 4 singles contest for a 3-1 Lady Flames lead.
• CSU No. 5 singles player Cauthen kept the Buccaneers' hopes alive with her 6-3, 7-5 decision over Ode Mitre.
• With Liberty leading 3-2, Almborg battled back from a set down for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 match-clinching victory over Man on court one.
• The final match (No. 2 singles) between Nguyen (Liberty) and Fullana (CSU) went unfinished in the third set.
• Lovato and Davtyan both earned their 10th singles victories of the spring 2021 season today. Lovato remains unbeaten at 10-0, and Davtyan is 10-1.
• Liberty won for the first time this season in a match in which they dropped the doubles point. The Lady Flames are 1-2 now when losing the first point of the match and 8-0 when winning it.
Next Up
• The Lady Flames are back in action on Saturday morning at College of Charleston (4-4). First serve is pegged for 10 a.m. at College of Charleston Tennis Center at Patriots Point.
• Liberty is 1-1 all-time against Charleston. The two schools last competed against each other in 2016, a 4-2 Lady Flames road win.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1,2
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
3,6,4,5,1