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Liberty University
Virginia
Flames Drop Season Opener to Defending Champion No. 1 Virginia
1/19/2023 8:45:00 PM | Men's Tennis
The Liberty Flames dropped their 2023 season opener 7-0 to the defending NCAA champion No. 1 Virginia Cavaliers on Thursday evening in front of a full capacity crowd at the Liberty Indoor Tennis Center.
The Flames drop to 0-1, and the Cavaliers start the season 3-0.
Virginia was victorious in two doubles matches and swept the six singles contests. Liberty senior Zion Heaven took No. 71-ranked Bar Botzer to a third set tiebreaker on court five and fought off multiple match points to before falling 21-19 in the tiebreaker to lose the match 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (21-19).
Thoughts From Head Coach Derek Schwandt
"Tonight was an awesome atmosphere. Thanks to all of our supporters for making it a special home opener. It was an honor to host the defending national champions at Liberty. We have a lot of respect for how much enthusiasm UVA competes with and how hard they work. We will look to reset and build from this match on Saturday. Our staff was happy with how our guys embraced the challenge and competed like champions tonight."
#1 Virginia 7, Liberty 0
Singles Competition
- #27 Chris Rodesch (VA) def. Josh Wilson (LIBERTYM) 6-2, 6-4
- #37 Inaki Montes (VA) def. Christiaan Worst (LIBERTYM) 6-0, 6-0
- #45 J vd Schulenburg (VA) def. Deji Thomas-Smith (LIBERTYM) 6-1, 7-6 (7-4)
- Ryan Goetz (VA) def. Luis Felipe Miguel (LIBERTYM) 6-1, 6-2
- #71 Bar Botzer (VA) def. Zion Heaven (LIBERTYM) 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (21-19)
- Mans Dahlberg (VA) def. Thando Longwe-Smit (LIBERTYM) 7-6 (7-4), 6-4
Doubles Competition
- Chris Rodesch/Bar Botzer (VA) def. Josh Wilson/Christiaan Worst (LIBERTYM) 6-2
- Inaki Montes/Ryan Goetz (VA) def. Beau Pelletier/Zion Heaven (LIBERTYM) 6-3
- Deji Thomas-Smith/Luis Felipe Miguel (LIBERTYM) vs. J vd Schulenburg/Alexander Kiefer (VA) 5-3, unfinished
Liberty 0-1
Virginia 3-0; National ranking #1
Order of Finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (2,4,1,6,3,5)
Official: B Harrison/J Conley T-2:33
How It Happened
• The Cavaliers won the first two doubles matches with the third match unfinished. UVA' No. 2 duo, Inaki Montes and Ryan Goetz, bested Beau Pelletier and Zion Heaven 6-3. Virginia's second doubles pairing to win was Chris Rodesch and Bar Botzer in the No. 1 position, as they defeated the Flames' Josh Wilson and Christiaan Worst 6-2.
• The remaining doubles match ended unfinished with Liberty up 5-3. The match featured Deji Thomas-Smith and Luis Felipe Miguel, as the Flames' No. 3 pairing as they faced Virginia's Jeffery Von Der Schulenberg and Alexander Kiefer.
• The Cavaliers claimed all six singles matches.
• The final match ended in a tiebreak final set with the No. 5 matchup between Liberty's Heaven and Virginia's Botzer. Botzer came out on top 21-19 in a 10-point tiebreaker, the longest tiebreak in Coach Schwandt's (Liberty) tenure as head coach.
• Virginia's singles lineup featured four nationally-ranked players, ranging from the 27th-ranked player in the country (Rodesch) to the 71st-ranked player (Botzer).
• UVA's match-clinching fourth point came from No. 27 Chris Rodesch on court one. The Virginia junior defeated Wilson of the Flames 6-2, 6-4.
• Virginia improves to 12-0 all-time versus Liberty. This is the third straight year in which the Flames have met the Cavaliers in their season opener.
• Thursday's match featured two teams that each won conference titles a season ago. Liberty (13-11 overall record) claimed the ASUN crown, its second conference title in program history. Virginia (28-5 overall record) captured the 2022 ACC title along with the NCAA Championship.
Next Up
• The Flames are back in action on Saturday for a match against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (0-3). First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Liberty Indoor Tennis Center.
• Liberty will face Tennessee Tech for the first time in program history.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
2,4,1,6,3,5
Players Mentioned
