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Liberty University
Boise State University
No. 69 Liberty Falls in Consolation Championship to Boise State, 4-1
3/12/2023 7:41:00 PM | Men's Tennis
No. 69 Liberty fell 4-1 in the consolation championship match to Boise State, Sunday morning at the Diablos Tennis Tournament hosted by Arizona State.
The Flames drop to 6-8 on the season and finish the weekend with a 1-2 mark. Liberty lost matches to Boise State and host No. 31 Arizona State (4-1 on Friday) and collected a 4-1 win over No. 67-ranked Michigan State on Saturday at the Kiwanis Tennis Center.
Boise State improves to 9-4 and finishes their time at the event with a 2-1 mark in taking the consolation title for fifth place. The Broncos earned another ranked victory yesterday as well, edging No. 61 Drake 4-3.
Boise State 4, #69 Liberty 1
Singles Competition
- Sam Sippel (BOI) def. Josh Wilson (LIBERTYM) 5-7, 6-2, 6-4
- Simon Arca Costas (BOI) def. R. Marques Da Silva (LIBERTYM) 6-3, 6-1
- Christiaan Worst (LIBERTYM) def. Caden Moortgat (BOI) 7-5, 7-5
- Deji Thomas-Smith (LIBERTYM) vs. James Van Herzeele (BOI) 6-3, 6-7 (10-12), 2-2, unfinished
- John Chin (BOI) def. Luis Felipe Miguel (LIBERTYM) 6-2, 6-3
- Beau Pelletier (LIBERTYM) vs. Ryo Minakata (BOI) 6-3, 1-1, unfinished
Doubles Competition
- Michael Bott/Simon Arca Costas (BOI) def. #74 Josh Wilson/Christiaan Worst (LIBERTYM) 6-4
- Deji Thomas-Smith/Luis Felipe Miguel (LIBERTYM) def. John Chin/Caden Moortgat (BOI) 6-4
- Jan Lucca Marquardt/Sam Sippel (BOI) def. R. Marques Da Silva/Thando Longwe-Smit (LIBERTYM) 7-5
Liberty 6-8; National ranking #69
Boise State 9-4
Order of Finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (5,2,3,1)
T-3:25
How It Happened
• Liberty fell behind 1-0 after a tightly-contested doubles session went to Boise State. The Flames won the first completed doubles contest, with Deji Thomas-Smith and Luis Felipe Miguel collecting their sixth straight win. The Liberty duo defeated John Chin and Caden Moortgat 6-4 on court two.
• The Broncos’ Michael Bott and Simon Arca Costas earned a ranked doubles victory, taking down the Flames’ No. 74 Josh Wilson and Christiaan Worst 6-4 on court one. Boise State secured the first point of the morning with a No. 3 doubles triumph from Jan Lucca Marquardt/Sam Sippel, 7-5 over Rafael Marques Da Silva and Thando Longwe-Smit.
• The Broncos carried over the momentum into the singles session, taking a commanding 3-0 lead. After resting during the doubles portion of the match, Idriss Haddouch knocked off the Flames’ Miguel 6-2, 6-3 on court five. Arca Costas earned his second win of the day for a 3-0 Boise State lead, as he took down Marques Da Silva 6-3, 6-1 at No. 2 singles.
• Liberty’s lone point of the contest came via Worst (No. 3 singles), a 7-5, 7-5 winner over Moortgat.
• The Broncos closed things out on court one for the 4-1 victory. Sippel prevailed in a three-set battle with Wilson, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4.
• Today’s match was the first-ever between the two schools in men’s tennis.
Next Up
• The Flames (6-8, 1-0 ASUN) will return home to face the Kennesaw State Owls (7-4, 0-0 ASUN), Friday at 3 p.m. This will Liberty’s second ASUN match and KSU’s first conference contest of the year.
• Liberty is 4-1 all-time against Kennesaw State. Last year, the Flames ended the Owls’ season with a 4-0 victory in the 2022 ASUN Men’s Tennis Championship semifinals. Liberty was picked to finish first in this year’s preseason poll, and Kennesaw State was picked to come in fourth in the league.
• The Flames played their ASUN opener against Queens on Jan. 25 at home, a 6-1 victory.
Main Photo at Top of Story: Thando Longwe-Smit
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1,3
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
5,2,3,1