Liberty University
Liberty Spring Hidden Dual
Flames Enjoy Dominant 18-Win Day 1 of Liberty Spring Hidden Dual
1/14/2022 10:28:00 PM | Men's Tennis
The Liberty Flames men's tennis team enjoyed a dominant 18-win first day of the Liberty Spring Hidden Dual, Friday at the Liberty Indoor Tennis Center.
The Flames posted a 15-1 singles record and 3-1 doubles mark for an 18-2 overall record on day one. Liberty competed in singles matches against Youngstown State earlier in the day and versus Charleston in the evening. The Flames opened the day with a doubles session against YSU.
Key Stats & Notes
• Liberty claimed three of the four doubles matches against Youngstown State in the morning session. The Flames were also victorious in seven of eight singles contests against the Penguins.
• In the evening session, Liberty swept the eight singles contests from the College of Charleston Cougars.
• Twelve of the Flames' 15 singles triumphs on Friday came in straight sets.
• Seven Flames won two singles matches today, including: Nicaise Muamba, Josh Wilson, Rafael Marques Da Silva, Christiaan Worst, Thando Longwe-Smit, Goncalo Ferreira and Zion Heaven.
• Wilson's two victories today gives him a team-best 14 singles victories in 2021-22. Meanwhile, Heaven's pair of wins extends his winning streak to a team-high five matches. Heaven is 9-4 overall in singles this season. Ferreira improves to 12-3 in singles on the year with two victories on Friday.
• Liberty's three doubles victories against YSU came from the pairings of Muamba/Marques Da Silva, Wilson/Ferreira and Longwe-Smit/Heaven.
• Three Flames singles triumphs today came in comeback fashion. Those come-from-behind victories were from Worst and Longwe-Smit versus Youngstown State and from Thomas-Smith against Charleston. Worst edged the Penguins' Nathan Favier 3-6, 7-6 (6), 1-0 (10-3) after staving off match points in the second set, while Longwe-Smit topped Harry Fouzas 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-8). Longwe-Smit trailed 8-5 in the third set 10-point tiebreaker but rallied to win the final five points and the match. Thomas-Smith erased a one-set deficit to Charleston's Noah Borges on the way to a 2-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-3) decision.
Up Next
Liberty will be back in action on Saturday morning for two rounds of doubles against Charleston and James Madison. First serve is slated for 10 a.m. The Flames will take on the JMU Dukes in singles to close out the event, tomorrow at 3 p.m.
Players Mentioned
