No. 63 Flames Travel to Stetson and FGCU to Close Out Regular Season
4/5/2023 12:42:18 PM | Men's Tennis
Live Scoring: Liberty at Stetson
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Fresh off a ranked road win over No. 62 Old Dominion, the newly- minted No. 63 Flames (No. 68 last week) will finish their spring regular season by traveling to Florida to take on Stetson and FGCU.
The match with Stetson (12-8, 2-4 ASUN) is set for Thursday at 3 p.m. from the Mandy Stoll Tennis Center in DeLand, Fla. Saturday’s tilt versus FGCU (10-8, 5-1 ASUN) will be at 5 p.m. from the FGCU Tennis Complex.
Liberty (12-8, 6-0 ASUN) is currently tied for first with Bellarmine in the ASUN standings going into its final two matches of the regular season. Stetson sits at seventh with a 2-4 ASUN record while FGCU is 5-1 and tied for second place in the league.
Liberty is 2-1 all-time against Stetson and 2-3 versus FGCU. The Flames took down both programs last season, including a 4-2 win over FGCU in the 2022 ASUN Men’s Tennis Championship title match to secure their second straight ASUN title. Both Flames wins over the Eagles have been in championship settings, with Liberty also besting FGCU by a 4-0 score in the 2021 ASUN Tournament final.
The Flames bested the Hatters 6-1 last season (April 16, 2022) on Senior Day.
In their six ASUN matches, the Flames have been dominant, only dropping a combined two total points.
Flames News and Notes
• Liberty (6-0 ASUN) is looking to finish unbeaten in ASUN regular season play for the second time in the last three years. The Flames finished a perfect 6-0 in ASUN competition in 2021 on the way to their first ASUN crown. Liberty is 24-3 all-time in ASUN regular season matches.
• The Flames moved up five spots in this week’s ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings from No. 68 to No. 63. The No. 63 ranking is Liberty’s highest of the 2023 season and best mark since being ranked 57th in the nation from Feb. 23-March 1, 2022.
• Last Wednesday, junior Rafael Marques Da Silva was honored with his first ASUN Player of the Week award of the season and fifth of his career. Marques Da Silva is 6-6 this spring and 8-3 in doubles. Five of his eight doubles triumphs have come with his current partner, Beau Pelletier.
• Liberty’s senior pair of Josh Wilson and Christiaan Worst have fought in all their matches from the No. 1 doubles position. The pair has achieved an 8-8 record. Wilson and Worst earned a No. 74 doubles national ranking on March 7 and have three ranked doubles wins during the 2022-23 season.
• The Flames' duo of Luis Felipe Miguel and Deji Thomas-Smith has been vital for the Flames this season, as the two have achieved an 11-4 record while playing primarily in the No. 2 position (10-3).
• Senior Wilson has also played all his singles matches from the No. 1 slot, climbing to a 9-8 record.
• Liberty freshman Miguel leads the team in wins this spring with a combined 24 wins, sporting a 13-5 singles record 11-5 doubles mark. Miguel will be carrying a six-match winning streak in singles into Thursday’s contest against the Hatters.
• Senior Pelletier (10-5) holds the team’s longest win streak with seven straight wins.
• The Flames’ Worst has been a rock for the Flames with an 11-6 singles record and has captured five straight matches.
• Thomas-Smith (9-8) is getting hot at the right time with a six-match win streak.
• The Flames are 4-3 in road matches this season.
• Stetson and FGCU met on March 24, with the Eagles prevailing 4-3 at home.
