Liberty University
No. 3 South seed Kennesaw State
No. 48 Liberty Advances to ASUN Title Match With 4-1 Win Over Kennesaw State
4/23/2021 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
No. 48 Liberty earned a spot in the 2021 ASUN Men's Tennis Championship title match with a 4-1 win over Kennesaw State in the semifinals, Friday morning at the UNF Tennis Complex.
Liberty improves to 19-7 with the victory. This is the first time in program history that the Flames have advanced to a conference final. Kennesaw State's season ends with a 7-12 record.
Friday's victory sets up a battle of top seeds in Saturday's championship match. Liberty is the No. 1 seed from the ASUN North Division and will face the ASUN South Division's top seed, FGCU. The Eagles (8-5) topped the ASUN North Division's No. 2 seed, Lipscomb, 4-1 in the other semifinal today.
The championship match will take place at 9 a.m. on Saturday and can be seen on ESPN+. The winner of the tournament will receive an automatic bid to the 2021 Division I Men's Tennis Championship.
Liberty is now 3-0 all-time against Kennesaw State following the win.
2021 ASUN Men's Tennis Championship – UNF Tennis Complex – Jacksonville, Fla.
Saturday, April 24 – Final
No. 1 North seed No. 48 Liberty (19-7) vs. No. 1 South seed FGCU (8-5), 9 a.m. – ESPN+
Thoughts From Head Coach Derek Schwandt
"We are looking forward to the match tomorrow. The team made a strong push today, and we will look to continue to respond tomorrow."
#48 #1N Liberty 4, #3S Kennesaw State 1
Singles Competition
1. #94 Nicaise Muamba (LIBERTYM) vs. Sebastian Osorio (KSUM) 1-6, 7-5, unfinished
2. R. Marques Da Silva (LIBERTYM) def. Raul Garcia (KSUM) 6-4, 6-3
3. Sergio Ingles (KSUM) def. Josh Wilson (LIBERTYM) 6-4, 6-3
4. Deji Thomas-Smith (LIBERTYM) def. Kevin Patel (KSUM) 6-2, 6-4
5. Christiaan Worst (LIBERTYM) vs. Harvey Conway (KSUM) 7-5, 5-5, unfinished
6. Thando Longwe-Smit (LIBERTYM) def. Gaston Muhammad (KSUM) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles Competition
1. Deji Thomas-Smith/Christiaan Worst (LIBERTYM) vs. Harvey Conway/Sergio Ingles (KSUM) 5-4, unfinished
2. Nicaise Muamba/R. Marques Da Silva (LIBERTYM) def. Raul Garcia/Gaston Muhammad (KSUM) 6-2
3. Josh Wilson/Steve Mundt (LIBERTYM) def. Kevin Patel/Sebastian Osorio (KSUM) 6-3
#3S Kennesaw State 7-12
#1N Liberty 19-7; National ranking #48
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (6,3,4,2)
2021 ASUN Men's Tennis Championship Semifinals
High 60s, sunny
T-2:25 A-51
How It Happened
• Liberty got off to a strong start by winning the doubles point. The Flames won the No. 6, No. 4 and No. 2 singles matches to secure the victory.
• The Flames' winningest doubles unit this spring, Nicaise Muamba and Rafael Marques Da Silva (No. 2 doubles), won their 15th match. Muamba and Marques Da Silva defeated Raul Garcia and Gaston Muhammad 6-2.
• Liberty's No. 3 unit, Josh Wilson and Steve Mundt, continued their winning ways with a 6-3 result over Kevin Patel and Sebastian Osorio. Wilson and Mundt's victory gave the Flames the doubles point and bolstered their record to a perfect 7-0.
• In the early portion of the singles session, Liberty's Thando Longwe-Smit claimed his match against Muhammad 6-2, 6-2 on court six. Longwe-Smit's 12th triumph of the season pushed the Flames lead to 2-0.
• Kennesaw State's only point of the match came from Sergio Ingles in the No. 3 position. Ingles bested Liberty's Josh Wilson 6-4, 6-3 to trim the Flames lead in half (2-1).
• Liberty's Deji Thomas-Smith widened Liberty's lead back to two points, 3-1, by defeating Patel 6-2, 6-4 in the No. 4 singles contest. Thomas-Smith is now 14-8 on the year.
• The Flames' Marques Da Silva clinched the match, bringing the score to 4-1 when he bested Garcia 6-4, 6-3 at No. 2 singles. Marques Da Silva, a four-time ASUN Player of the Week this season, leads the team with 18 victories and sports an 18-6 mark.
• Liberty is now 2-1 all-time in the ASUN Tournament, with both victories coming in the last seven days.
• The Flames now hold a 8-2 mark as a nationally-ranked team.
Next Up
• Liberty will set its sights on an ASUN Championship crown when it battles FGCU (8-5) on Saturday morning. Match time is set for 10 a.m. at the UNF Tennis Complex and can be seen on ESPN+.
• The Flames are 0-2 all-time versus the Eagles. The squads last met on April 11, 2019, a 6-1 FGCU win in Fort Myers, Fla.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,3
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
6,3,4,2