Liberty University
North Alabama
Liberty Earns Win No. 15 of Season, 5-2 Versus UNA on Saturday
4/3/2021 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
The Liberty Lady Flames tennis team earned its 15th victory of the season, a 5-2 win over visiting North Alabama in ASUN Conference action on Saturday morning at the Liberty Indoor Tennis Center.
Liberty improves to 15-4 overall and a perfect 5-0 in the ASUN. The Lady Flames remain in first place in the ASUN North Division and are 7-0 at home in 2021. The Lions fall to 6-11 and 2-3 in league play.
Liberty completes the regular season sweep of UNA, winning both matches by identical 5-2 scores.
Thoughts From Head Coach Jeff Maren
"Our pillars for the team are faith, focus and effort. We exhibited all of those today, which helped us get the win. We need to improve on some specifics, so we will work on them next week. We have an exciting week ahead of us, and we can't wait to get back on the court!"
Liberty 5, North Alabama 2
Singles Competition
1. Alexandra Almborg (LIBERTYW) def. Payton Andrews (UNA) 6-3, 6-4
2. Sydney Flesch (UNA) def. Tiffany Nguyen (LIBERTYW) 5-7, 6-3, 1-0 (10-8)
3. Esther Lovato (LIBERTYW) def. Megan Humphreys (UNA) 6-1, 6-1
4. Micaela Ode Mitre (LIBERTYW) def. Nina Linke (UNA) 6-0, 6-3
5. Eloise Saraty (LIBERTYW) def. Kalais Going (UNA) 0-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-7)
6. Ida Hasselbalch (UNA) def. Kelly Lewis (LIBERTYW) 6-3, 6-1
Doubles Competition
1. Alexandra Almborg/Eloise Saraty (LIBERTYW) def. Payton Andrews/Ida Hasselbalch (UNA) 7-5
2. Tiffany Nguyen/Micaela Ode Mitre (LIBERTYW) def. Sydney Flesch/Kalais Going (UNA) 6-2
3. Nina Linke/Lee-Taylor Bishop (UNA) def. Grace Hashiguchi/Esther Lovato (LIBERTYW) 6-3
North Alabama 6-11, 2-3 ASUN
Liberty 15-4, 5-0 ASUN
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (3,4,6,1,5,2)
Official: R Sanders/S Lunsford T-2:55
How It Happened
• Liberty won the doubles session and picked up singles victories at No. 1, No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 singles.
• The Lady Flames' Tiffany Nguyen and Micaela Ode Mitre (No. 2 doubles) collected their team-best 13th victory of the season, a 6-2 decision versus Sydney Flesch and Kalais Going. Nguyen and Ode Mitre are 26-9 in doubles over the last two seasons.
• North Alabama's Nina Linke and Lee-Taylor Bishop handed Grace Hashiguchi and Esther Lovato (3-1) their first loss, 6-3 on court three.
• Liberty's top duo, Alexandra Almborg and Eloise Saraty, trailed 4-1 in their doubles match with Payton Andrews and Ida Hasselbalch. Almborg and Saraty won six of the final seven games for a 7-5 triumph and a 1-0 Liberty lead. The Lady Flames pairing is 12-6 on the season in the No. 1 doubles slot.
• In singles, Liberty's Lovato (No. 3 singles) bolstered her singles record this season to 18-0 as she defeated Megan Humphreys in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1. Lovato has captured 23 consecutive singles matches going back to the 2020 season. During the unprecedented stretch of success, she has dropped only one set while winning 46 total sets.
• Ode Mitre of the Lady Flames led throughout her match and built the home lead up to 3-0 with her straight-sets victory (6-0, 6-3) against Linke on court four.
• North Alabama's Hasselbalch (No. 6 singles) put the Lions on the scoreboard by defeating Liberty's Kelly Lewis in two sets, 6-3, 6-1.
• Liberty's No. 1 singles player, Almborg, gave the hosts the pivotal fourth point of the day. The third-year player topped Andrews 6-3, 6-4 to make it 4-1 Lady Flames.
• After dropping her opening set 6-0 to Going on court five, Saraty of Liberty came back to win in three sets, 0-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-7). Saraty, who is now 8-4 in singles matches this spring, gave the Lady Flames a 5-1 lead with the result.
• UNA's Flesch overcame a one-set deficit versus Nguyen in the No. 2 singles slot for a 5-7, 6-3, 1-0 (10-8) win to close out the match.
• The Lady Flames' 7-0 home record includes five victories at the Liberty Indoor Tennis Center and two wins at Crosswhite Athletic Club. Liberty has not played an outdoor home match in 2021.
• Liberty is now 3-0 all-time versus North Alabama, with all three wins coming in ASUN matches.
Next Up
• Liberty will have another quick turnaround before its next match, a Monday non-conference showdown versus former Big South foe Radford (5-8). First serve is slated for 3 p.m. at the Liberty Tennis Complex.
• The Lady Flames are 15-7 all-time against the Highlanders. The two squads last faced each other on April 10, 2018 in Radford, Va., a 5-2 Liberty triumph in what was its final Big South regular season match prior to joining the ASUN before the start of the 2018-19 season.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,3,1
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
3,4,6,1,5,2