Liberty University
Virginia Tech
Lady Flames Topped 5-2 By Hokies on Saturday Afternoon in Blacksburg
2/18/2023 3:29:00 PM | Women's Tennis
The Liberty Lady Flames tennis squad fell 5-2 to the Virginia Tech Hokies, Saturday afternoon at the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center.
Virginia Tech bolsters its overall record to 7-1 in 2023, including an unblemished 7-0 home mark. Meanwhile, Liberty slips to 7-3 and 1-1 in true road matches.
The Lady Flames' Esther Lovato (No. 3 singles) and Tiffany Nguyen (No. 4 singles) earned singles victories today. Lovato is a perfect 7-0 in singles this spring, while Nguyen is 6-1.
Thoughts From Head Coach Jeff Maren
"We battled hard today against a very good team and came up just a little short on the execution side of things. We will regroup and get ready for next week."
Virginia Tech 5, Liberty 2Â
Singles Competition
- Dariya Radulova (VT) def. M. Juliana P. Romero (LIBERTYW) 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (10-4)
- Ozlem Uslu (VT) def. Alexandra Almborg (LIBERTYW) 6-3, 6-3
- Esther Lovato (LIBERTYW) def. Tamara Barad Itzhaki (VT) 6-2, 6-4
- Tiffany Nguyen (LIBERTYW) def. Semra Aksu (VT) 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-8)
- Erika Cheng (VT) def. Micaela Ode Mitre (LIBERTYW) 6-1, 5-2, retired
- Katie Andreini (VT) def. Bruna Sampaio (LIBERTYW) 6-0, 6-0
Doubles Competition
- Katie Andreini/Dariya Radulova (VT) def. Tiffany Nguyen/Micaela Ode Mitre (LIBERTYW) 6-1
- Erika Cheng/Ozlem Uslu (VT) vs. M. Juliana P. Romero/Alexandra Almborg (LIBERTYW) 2-5, unfinished
- Semra Aksu/Tamara Barad Itzhaki (VT) def. Esther Lovato/Bruna Sampaio (LIBERTYW) 6-2
Liberty 7-3
Virginia Tech 7-1
Order of Finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (6,2,5,4,3,1)
Official: K Zimmerman T-2:34
How It Happened
• Liberty dropped the doubles point to Virginia Tech. The Hokies secured the overall victory with wins on courts six, two and five, in that order, to take a 4-0 lead. The Lady Flames claimed wins on courts four and three before the Hokies earned the fifth point with a win on court one.
• The Hokies' No. 1 and No. 3 doubles teams took care of business to secure the first point of the match for the hosts. Virginia Tech's top duo, Dariya Radulova and Katie Andreini, knocked off the No. 1 Liberty duo of Tiffany Nguyen and Micaela Ode Mitre 6-1. The Hokies' No. 3 unit, Semra Aksu and Tamara Barad Itzhaki, downed the Lady Flames' Esther Lovato and Bruna Sampaio 6-2.
• Andreini (No. 6 singles), Ozlem Uslu (No. 2 singles) and Erika Cheng (No. 5 singles) collected victories over their Liberty counterparts, Sampaio, Alexandra Almborg and Ode Mitre for the aforementioned 4-0 advantage.
• Nguyen picked up Liberty's first point of the contest, battling back from a set down to Aksu to win 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-8) in the No. 4 singles match.
• Lovato followed Nguyen with a 6-2, 6-4 decision over Barad Itzhaki on court three. The win is Lovato's 10th straight dating back to the fall campaign. She is 17-1 overall and 7-0 in dual matches.
• The Hokies' Radulova handed Liberty sophomore Maria Juliana Parra Romero (6-1) her first defeat of the spring, prevailing in a three-set battle 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (10-4).
• Virginia Tech improves to 8-0 all-time against Liberty. Each of the last three meetings (2018, 2021, 2023) have been decided by the same 5-2 score in favor of the Hokies.
Next Up
• Liberty will host Navy (7-2) next Saturday in Lynchburg. Match time is 9 a.m. at the Liberty Indoor Tennis Center.
• The Lady Flames are 2-0 all-time against the Midshipmen, with the last meeting coming on Feb. 1, 2020. Liberty edged Navy 4-3 on the road at the Tose Family Tennis Center in Annapolis, Md.
Main Photo at Top of Story: Alexandra Almborg
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,3
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
6,2,5,4,3,1
Players Mentioned
