Liberty University
South Florida
Liberty Battles to a 4-3 Loss to No. 64 South Florida
2/26/2023 6:00:10 PM | Men's Tennis
The Liberty Flames men’s tennis team fell 5-2 at home to the No. 64 South Florida Bulls on Sunday afternoon.
Liberty (4-6) snagged the the doubles point from South Florida (6-8) with wins on courts three and one, but the Bulls claimed four of the six singles contests to secure the victory.
Liberty falls to 0-2 all-time versus USF. The Flames and Bulls played to a 4-3 score two seasons ago.
The match was the first played outdoors at the Liberty Tennis Complex for the Flames on the spring season.
The match was the second of the weekend for both teams. Liberty topped No. 46 Penn State on Friday by a 6-1 count. South Florida played a neutral site match here in Lynchburg with Penn State on Saturday afternoon, with the Bulls getting a 6-1 win.
#64 South Florida 4, Liberty 3
Singles Competition
- Davide Tortora (USFM) def. Josh Wilson (LIBERTYM) 6-4, 7-5
- Erik Grevelius (USFM) def. R. Marques Da Silva (LIBERTYM) 1-6, 6-3, 6-4
- Alvin Tudorica (USFM) def. Deji Thomas-Smith (LIBERTYM) 6-4, 6-4
- Christiaan Worst (LIBERTYM) def. Tom Pisane (USFM) 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5)
- Bruno Oliveira (USFM) def. Beau Pelletier (LIBERTYM) 6-3, 6-4
- Luis Felipe Miguel (LIBERTYM) def. Thomas Palvekovich-S (USFM) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
Doubles Competition
- Josh Wilson/Christiaan Worst (LIBERTYM) def. Davide Tortora/Bruno Oliveira (USFM) 6-2
- Deji Thomas-Smith/Luis Felipe Miguel (LIBERTYM) vs. Erik Grevelius/Alvin Tudorica (USFM) 5-4, unfinished
- Beau Pelletier/R. Marques Da Silva (LIBERTYM) def. Thomas Palvekovich-S/Samuel Frizelle (USFM) 6-2
South Florida 6-8; National ranking #64
Liberty 4-6
Order of Finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (3,5,6,1,2,4)
Official: Sanders/Zimmerman T-3:11
How It Happened
• Liberty took the first doubles match on court two with the pair of Rafael Marques Da Silva and Beau Pelletier (2-1) cruising to a 6-2 win over Thomas Pavlekovich-Smith and Samuel Frizzelle. Liberty clinched the point a few minutes later on court one with the duo of Josh Wilson and Christiaan Worst (5-4) besting Davide Tortora and Bruno Oliveira with by the same 6-2 score.
• The first singles match and USF’s first point of the day came from court three, as Liberty’s Deji Thomas- Smith fell to Alvin Tudorica 6-4, 6-4. The Bulls’ Oliveira provided the visitors their first lead of the day, 2-1, with a 6-3, 6-4 decision over Pelletier in the No. 5 slot.
• Liberty got a point on court six to tie it at 2-all after Luis Felipe Miguel struggled in the first set but found his groove to beat the Bulls’ Pavlekovich-Smith 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
• USF’s Tortora avenged his doubles loss to Wilson with a 6-4, 7-5 result over the Liberty senior on court one for a 3-2 lead.
• The Bulls earned the match clinching fourth point on court two as Liberty’s Marques Da Silva was unable to hold on after winning the first set. South Florida’s Erik Grevelius ended up getting the 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 win.
• Liberty got its third point thanks to senior Christiaan Worst on court four battling to take down Tom Pisane. The match required a third set tiebreaker that Worst took to get a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5) victory.
• The Flames fall to 1-3 against ranked teams in 2023. Seven of the 10 teams Liberty has faced this year are currently nationally ranked.
Next Up
• The Flames host the Charlotte 49ers (4-6) next Saturday in Lynchburg. First serve is set for 1 p.m.
• Liberty looks to improve its record over Charlotte that currently sits at 3-2. The Flames and 49ers last met in 2022, with Charlotte getting the tight 4-3 win.
• Both the Liberty men’s and women’s tennis teams will face Charlotte at home this week. The Lady Flames are set to play the 49ers on Friday at 2 p.m.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
3,5,6,1,2,4