Liberty University
VCU
Flames Fall to VCU 5-2, Senior Duo Battles to Grab Pair of Points
2/12/2023 5:37:00 PM | Men's Tennis
The Liberty Flames men's tennis team battled the in-state rival VCU Rams Sunday afternoon, losing 5-2 at home despite valiant efforts.
The Flames (3-5) drop to 0-7 all time against the Rams who improve to 7-1 on the season following the victory at the Liberty Indoor Tennis Center.
The match was the second of the weekend for both teams, Liberty lost to Clemson (7-2) by a score of 5-2, Friday night. VCU played a neutral site match here in Lynchburg with Clemson on Saturday afternoon, with the Rams getting the 4-0 win.
Thoughts From Associate Head Coach Trevor Foshey
"The last thing we're going to do is feel sorry for ourselves and be discouraged. It's February 12th, and we have a long season ahead. We have the right character in the locker room to respond from this weekend and have an awesome rest of the season. Go Flames!"
VCU 5, Liberty 2
Singles Competition
- Charles Bertimon (VCU) def. Josh Wilson (LIBERTYM) 7-6 (8-6), 1-6, 1-0 (10-7)
- #105 Matisse Bobichon (VCU) def. Deji Thomas-Smith (LIBERTYM) 6-3, 6-2
- Christiaan Worst (LIBERTYM) def. Maxence Bertimon (VCU) 1-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-5)
- Rayane Stable (VCU) def. Luis Felipe Miguel (LIBERTYM) 6-3, 6-2
- Beau Pelletier (LIBERTYM) def. Joaquim Almeida (VCU) 6-3, 2-6, 1-0 (10-8)
- Romain Gales (VCU) def. Thando Longwe-Smit (LIBERTYM) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles Competition
- #31 Rayane Stable/Matisse Bobichon (VCU) def. Josh Wilson/Christiaan Worst (LIBERTYM) 7-5
- Deji Thomas-Smith/Luis Felipe Miguel (LIBERTYM) def. Charles Bertimon/Maxence Bertimon (VCU) 6-4
- Joaquim Almeida/Romain Gales (VCU) def. Beau Pelletier/R. Marques Da Silva (LIBERTYM) 6-4
Liberty 3-5
VCU 7-1
Order of Finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (2,6,4,3,5,1)
Official: Harrison/Zimmerman T-2:37
How It Happened
• The doubles point came down to court one, as the teams split the first matches with the Flames taking court two and the Rams court claiming victory on court three. On court one, Liberty's Josh Wilson and Christiaan Worst were up 5-4 against VCU's No. 31-ranked Matisse Bobichon and Rayane Stable. The Rams duo fought back by winning the final three games and the match, 7-5, to clinch the doubles point for the visitors.
• VCU won the first three singles matches to secure the victory, but Liberty fought to take two of three singles matches after the clinch. Liberty seniors Josh Wilson, Christiaan Worst and Beau Pelletier all took their matches to a third set 10-point tiebreaker, with Worst and Pelletier coming away with the two Liberty points.
• Liberty's doubles win came from court two, with Liberty's Luis Felipe Miguel and Deji Thomas-Smith defeating VCU twins Charles and Maxence Bertimon 6-4. The Bertimon twins advanced to the NCAA Doubles Championship semifinals in 2022. The Liberty pair moved to 3-3 on the season.
• The first singles match finished on court two, with the Flames' Thomas-Smith versus No. 105 Bobichon. The Liberty junior battled but fell 6-3, 6-2.
• Liberty's Worst dropped the first set 6-1 to the Rams' Maxence Bertimon but bounced back and won the second set 6-3. With VCU already clinching the win, the third set went to a 10-point tiebreaker. Worst got the Flames their first point of the day, playing a dominant tiebreak to get a final score of 1-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-5). The senior goes to 5-4 for the season.
• Liberty's Pelletier got the Flames their second point, also going to a third set with Joaquim Almeida after dropping the second set. Pelletier played a tight super tiebreaker before prevailing 10-8 in it to take the match, 6-3, 2-6, 1-0 (10-8). The win for the senior was his third of the spring season.
• On court one, Flames senior Wilson faced the Rams' Charles Bertimon, going to a tough tiebreaker in the first set that the Liberty senior fell short in, 7-6 (6). The senior fought to win the second set before dropping a tough third set tiebreaker to a tune of 7-6 (6), 1-6, 1-0 (10-7).
Next Up
• The Flames are off from competition next week and are scheduled to return to the Liberty Indoor Tennis Center for a match with Penn State (8-1) at 5 p.m. on Feb. 24.
• Liberty is 1-1 all time facing the Nittany Lions, getting edged 4-3 last season (Feb. 11) on the road. The Flames downed the Nittany Lions 5-2 three years ago (Feb. 21, 2020) in what was their first-ever win over a Big Ten school.
Main Photo at Top of Story: Luis Felipe Miguel (right)
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:
2,6,4,3,5,1
Players Mentioned
