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Liberty University
Jacksonville State
No. 67 Flames Celebrate Senior Day With a 7-0 Sweep of Jacksonville State, Sunday
3/26/2023 8:30:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Seniors Josh Wilson, Christiaan Worst, Zion Heaven and Beau Pelletier were honored before the match as No. 67 Liberty swept Jacksonville State 7-0 on Sunday afternoon.
Liberty used three wins by seniors to pad the lead after clinching the match at 4-0. The Flames improve to 11-8 on the year and remain unbeaten in the ASUN at 6-0. Liberty has four 7-0 sweeps and a pair of 6-1 wins in league play.
JSU falls to 10-8 and 2-2 in the ASUN this season.
The Flames took the doubles point after a 6-1 win on court two and a tiebreak 7-6 (2) victory on court three. Liberty carrited that momentum into wins at No. 5, No. 3 and No. 1 singles to secure the win. Celebrating Senior Day, Pelletier, Heaven and Worst finished the day by adding three points to earn the sweep.
The Flames improved to 7-4 at home and have built up a five-match win streak, with all wins coming in ASUN matchups.
With two more conference contests remaining, Liberty is looking to go undefeated in the ASUN for the second time in three seasons. The Flames last went unbeaten in the ASUN in 2021 with a 6-0 mark.
Liberty improves to 3-1 all-time versus JSU.
#67 Liberty 7, Jacksonville State 0
Singles Competition
- R. Marques Da Silva (LIBERTYM) def. Xavier Sarda Marti (JSUM) 6-2, 6-2
- Christiaan Worst (LIBERTYM) def. Alin Fatu (JSUM) 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 (10-5)
- Deji Thomas-Smith (LIBERTYM) def. Matei Palcau (JSUM) 6-1, 6-3
- Beau Pelletier (LIBERTYM) def. Vanja Dobrnjac (JSUM) 6-2, 6-3
- Luis Felipe Miguel (LIBERTYM) def. Lucius Soller (JSUM) 6-2, 6-1
- Zion Heaven (LIBERTYM) def. Vicente Arbelaez (JSUM) 6-2, 6-7 (1-7), 1-0 (10-5)
Doubles Competition
- Vanja Dobrnjac/Lucius Soller (JSUM) def. Josh Wilson/Christiaan Worst (LIBERTYM) 6-3
- Deji Thomas-Smith/Luis Felipe Miguel (LIBERTYM) def. Konstantin Benneman/Alin Fatu (JSUM) 6-1
- R. Marques Da Silva/Beau Pelletier (LIBERTYM) def. Logan Haga/Xavier Sarda Marti (JSUM) 7-6 (7-2)
Liberty 11-8, 6-0 ASUN; National ranking #67
Jacksonville State 10-8, 2-2 ASUN
Order of Finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (5,3,1,4,6,2)
Senior Day
Official: K Zimmerman/M Sarver T-2:51
How It Happened
• The Flames earned their first doubles win thanks to Luis Felipe Miguel and Deji Thomas-Smith cruising to a 6-1 triumph over Konstantin Bennemann and Alin Fatu on court two. It is the eleventh win together this spring for the duo against only three losses. Miguel and Thomas-Smith have won nine straight matches.
• Beau Pelletier and Rafael Marques Da Silva (5-1) clinched the doubles point to put Liberty ahead 1-0. The pair edged Logan Haga and Xavier Sarda Marti 7-6 (2).
• Liberty received their first singles point to go up 2-0 in the No. 5 singles match as Miguel rolled Lucius Soller 6-2, 6-1. The freshman won his fifth straight match and improved his record to 12-5 during his first spring with the Flames.
• Liberty went up 3-0 on court three as Thomas-Smith (8-8) cruised to a 6-1, 6-3 win over Matei Palcau.
• The Flames got the match clinching point in the No. 1 singles contest, with Marques Da Silva (6-5) topping Sarda Marti with a pair of 6-2 sets.
• Senior Pelletier (9-5) earned Liberty its fifth point by taking down Vanja Drobnjac 6-2, 6-3 on court four.
• Senior Zion Heaven (3-2) picked up a win in the No. 6 singles match, besting Vincente Arblaez Prati 6-2, 6-7 (1), 1-0 (10-5).
• Liberty earned the seventh point for the sweep on court two as another senior Christiaan Worst (10-6) edged Fatu in a third set tiebreak 6-6, 5-7, 1-0 (10-5).
• The four-player Liberty senior class has won a combined 180 singles matches and 149 doubles contests during their time with the Flames.
Next Up
• Liberty hits the road next week, travelling to Norfolk, Va. on Wednesday to take on Old Dominion (11-8) in non-conference action. The match is set to begin at 1 p.m. from the Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center.
• Liberty is 2-11 all-time facing ODU but won its last matchup last season by a 5-2 score at the Liberty Indoor Tennis Center.
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:
5,3,1,4,6,2
Players Mentioned
