Liberty University
William & Mary
Liberty Sweeps William & Mary 7-0 in Home Opener, Wednesday
1/26/2022 6:49:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Liberty swept visiting William & Mary 7-0 in its 2022 home opener, Wednesday afternoon at the Liberty Indoor Tennis Center.
The Flames' win is their first of the year, as they improve to 1-1 on the young season. Liberty extends its home winning streak to 15 matches, dating back to the 2020 season. Meanwhile, the Tribe drop to 0-1 in what was their season opener.
Liberty 7, William & Mary 0
Singles Competition
- Nicaise Muamba (LIBERTYM) def. George Davis (WM) 6-2, 6-3
- Josh Wilson (LIBERTYM) def. Harrison Brown (WM) 7-6 (7-5), 6-2
- R. Marques Da Silva (LIBERTYM) def. Sebastian Quiros (WM) 6-2, 6-3
- Christiaan Worst (LIBERTYM) def. Jack Kelly (WM) 7-5, 4-6, 1-0 (11-9)
- Deji Thomas-Smith (LIBERTYM) def. Joseph Brailovsky (WM) 6-4, 6-2
- Thando Longwe-Smit (LIBERTYM) def. Sean Joseph (WM) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles Competition
- Deji Thomas-Smith/Christiaan Worst (LIBERTYM) def. George Davis/Harrison Brown (WM) 6-3
- Nicaise Muamba/R. Marques Da Silva (LIBERTYM) vs. Joseph Brailovsky/Chen Ruo (WM) 4-3, unfinished
- Josh Wilson/Goncalo Ferreira (LIBERTYM) def. Finbar Talcott/Daniel Pellerito (WM) 6-2
Liberty 1-1
William & Mary 0-1
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (6,1,3,5,2,4)
Official: R Sanders/S Lunsford T-2:25Â
How It Happened
• Liberty won both completed doubles matches and claimed all six singles matches, five of which came in straight sets.
• The Flames opened the match by taking the doubles session with victories on courts three and one, respectively. Liberty's No. 3 duo, Josh Wilson and Goncalo Ferreira, raced out to a 5-0 lead over Finbar Talcott and Daniel Pellerito before closing out a 6-2 victory.
• The Flames' top duo and reigning ASUN Doubles Pair of the Year, Deji Thomas-Smith and Christiaan Worst, trailed 3-2 in their match with George Davis and Harrison Brown. Thomas-Smith and Worst closed strong, winning the final four games and the match, 6-3, for a 1-0 home edge.
• Liberty's Thando Longwe-Smit bolstered the Flames' lead to 2-0 with a 6-1, 6-2 result over the Tribe's Sean Joseph at No. 6 singles.
• The Flames' No. 1 and No. 3 singles competitors, Muamba and Marques Da Silva, provided the next points. Muamba knocked off George Davis (No. 1 singles) 6-2, 6-3. Shortly after Muamba's triumph, Marques Da Silva beat Quiros 6-2, 6-3 on court three. Marques Da Silva's decision made it 4-0 Liberty and secured the victory.
• Thomas-Smith of Liberty (No. 5 singles) trailed in the early going (2-1 and 1-0) of both sets against the Tribe's Joseph Brailovsky but closed each set strong for a 6-4, 6-2 win.
• Leading 5-0, the Flames added to the advantage with a 7-6 (5), 6-2 triumph from Wilson versus Brown in the No. 2 slot. Wilson trailed 5-4 in his first set tiebreaker but took the final three points and carried the momentum into the second set for his team-leading 16th singles win.
• Worst (Liberty) and Jack Kelly (William & Mary) traded sets, with Worst winning 7-5 in set one and losing the second 6-4. Kelly led 7-4 in the third set 10-point tiebreaker before Worst won seven of the next nine points to prevail 11-9 and give the Flames the sweep. The overall final score of that match was 7-5, 4-6, 1-0 (11-9).
• Liberty has now won five straight meetings with William & Mary after losing the first seven matches in the all-time series. The Flames are 5-0 against the Tribe since the 2019 season.
• The Flames' 15-match home winning streak spans the course of three seasons. Liberty was 12-0 at home in 2021 and won its final two home matches of the 2020 season. The Flames' last home loss came to VCU on Feb. 7, 2020 at Crosswhite Athletic Club.
• Prior to today's 7-0 sweep, Liberty's last 7-0 triumph came at home against Bellarmine on April 10, 2021. The Flames had five 7-0 sweeps a season ago.
• Wednesday's matchup featured a pair of teams who each finished the 2021 campaign in the national team rankings. Liberty (20-7) closed the year at No. 39, while William & Mary (9-6) finished 59th.
Next Up
• Liberty will compete at ITA Kickoff Weekend at South Carolina, starting on Saturday. The third-seeded Flames will face second-seeded Duke (2-0) at 2 p.m. at the new Carolina Indoor Tennis Center.
• The Flames will face No. 1 seed and 13th-ranked South Carolina (4-0) or No. 4 seed LSU (2-0) in either Sunday's championship match (2 p.m.) or consolation match (11 a.m.).
