Liberty University
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North Florida
UNF Knocks Off Two-Time Defending ASUN Champ Liberty 4-0 in ASUN Semifinals
4/21/2023 5:04:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Two-time defending ASUN champion Liberty bowed out of the ASUN Championship in the semifinals, as host and No. 3 seed North Florida knocked off the No. 2 seed Flames 4-0 at the UNF Tennis Complex on Friday.
The No. 73-ranked Flames (14-10), the 2021 and 2022 ASUN champions, see their title defense come to an end. The Ospreys improve to 16-6 on the year. UNF will meet No. 1 seed FGCU (14-8) in tomorrow's title match at 10 a.m. on ESPN+. The Eagles topped No. 5 seed Kennesaw State 4-0 in Friday's first semifinal.
The Ospreys came out strong, taking two of three doubles matches on courts two and three to earn the initial doubles point of the match. UNF kept going strong, winning the first set of all six singles matches.
The Flames fought hard and found more success in the second sets with four matches reaching a third set, but the Ospreys held on for the 4-0 sweep to advance to the ASUN Championship final.
North Florida 4, #73 Liberty 0
Singles Competition
- Jonas Hartenstein (UNF) vs. Josh Wilson (LIBERTYM) 6-4, 3-6, 1-2, unfinished
2. Rodrigo Crespo (UNF) vs. R. Marques Da Silva (LIBERTYM) 6-0, 6-7 (3-7), 2-1, unfinished 3. Matt Carroll (UNF) def. Christiaan Worst (LIBERTYM) 6-4, 6-4
4. Bruno Vietri (UNF) def. Deji Thomas-Smith (LIBERTYM) 6-1, 6-2
5. PJ Kotan (UNF) def. Beau Pelletier (LIBERTYM) 6-2, 1-6, 6-1
6. Breno Marques (UNF) vs. Thando Longwe-Smit (LIBERTYM) 6-3, 2-6, 5-1, unfinished
Doubles Competition
- Josh Wilson/Christiaan Worst (LIBERTYM) def. Jonas Hartenstein/Rodrigo Crespo (UNF) 6-4
2. PJ Kotan/Bruno Vietri (UNF) def. Luis Felipe Miguel/Deji Thomas-Smith (LIBERTYM) 6-4
3. Breno Marques/Andreas Scott (UNF) def. R. Marques Da Silva/Thando Longwe-Smit (LIBERTYM) 6-2
Liberty 14-10; National Ranking #73
North Florida 16-6
Order of Finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (4,3,5) 2023 ASUN Men's Tennis Championship Semifinals
T-2:44
How It Happened
• In the No. 3 doubles match, Rafael Marques Da Silva and Thando Longwe-Smit of Liberty were topped by UNF's Breno Marques and Andreas Scott 6-2. The Flames pair finishes the season 4-2 playing alongside each other.
• Liberty evened the doubles score at 1-1 on court one, as seniors Josh Wilson and Christiaan Worst took down Jonas Hartenstein and Rodrigo Crespo 6-4. The senior pair finish their spring season 10-8 together with all their matches in the No. 1 position. Wilson and Worst won a team-best 20 matches during the 2022-23 campaign against 12 losses.
• North Florida took an initial doubles match in the No. 2 doubles match with Luis Felipe Miguel and Deji Thomas-Smith falling to PJ Kotan and Bruno Vietri 6-4. Kotan and Vietri trailed 4-3, 40-15 before mounting a comeback to win the match. The Liberty duo finishes the spring with a 13-6 record together, the most wins by any doubles pair for Liberty in dual competition.
• UNF jumped out to a 2-0 lead on court four as Thomas-Smith lost to Vietri 6-1, 6-2. Thomas-Smith ends the spring with an 11-9 record.
• The Ospreys grabbed a commanding 3-0 lead in the No. 3 matchup after Worst was edged by Matt Carroll. The senior finishes his spring with a 12-9 mark and 50-38 singles mark in three years as a Flame.
• The match-winning fourth point for UNF came on court five, with Pelletier falling to PJ Kotan 6-2, 1-6, 6-1. The senior finishes his spring with a 12-7 record and 18-12 overall tally in his one season as a Flame.
• The Flames had three matches go unfinished. Court one saw Wilson end his match with Hartenstein 6-4, 3-6, 2-1. Wilson ends the spring with a 10-9 record, with all his matches coming in the No. 1 slot.
• The No. 2 match had Marques Da Silva battling to a third set after being blanked by Crespoin the first to finish 6-0, 6-7, 2-1. The junior ends the season with an 8-6 mark in the spring and 16-9 overall record.
• The final match of the afternoon was on court six, featuring Liberty's Longwe-Smit's against Marques. The two players traded sets (6-3 Marques, 6-2 Longwe-Smit), with Marques leading 5-1 in set three
• Liberty ends its tenure in the ASUN with a 7-2 mark at the ASUN Championship, two ASUN titles and a 25-4 regular season mark in conference play.
• The Flames are now 2-2 all-time versus the Ospreys. Both losses have come in postseason settings (other: 2019).
• Liberty senior Josh Wilson finishes his five-year Flames career with a program-record 91 singles wins and 80 doubles victories, second most in school history.
• Three other seniors – Christiaan Worst, Beau Pelletier and Zion Heaven – will also be moving on from the program.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
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#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1,2
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
4,3,5