Liberty University
Stetson
Liberty Defeats Defending ASUN Champion Stetson 4-3, Lovato Earns Program Record 93rd Singles Win
4/6/2023 3:14:08 PM | Women's Tennis
Esther Lovato Record-Breaking 93rd Win Graphic
Evangeline Crist Congratulates Esther Lovato
Liberty defeated defending ASUN champion Stetson 4-3 on Thursday, and Esther Lovato made history in the process with her program-record 93rd career singles win.
The Lady Flames improve to 15-7 overall and 6-1 in the ASUN following today’s victory at the Mandy Stoll Tennis Center. The Hatters drop to 15-7 on the year and 5-2 in league play. Lovato’s record-breaking win came in straight sets (6-3, 6-1) over Stetson’s Cheri Darley in the No. 3 slot. Lovato came into the day tied with Evangeline Crist (92 wins) for the most singles wins in school history.
Lovato came to Liberty starting in the 2019-20 academic year, earning 18 singles victories. That spring was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The next year (2020-21), Lovato won 23 singles matches, only losing once all year. Last season (2021-22), Lovato finished the year with 27 singles wins, the third most in a single year for a Liberty player. After today, Lovato has tallied 24 singles wins. In total, Lovato earned the program record in under four total years.
Liberty earned up the doubles point with a quick win on court three, followed by the decisive victory on court one. The Lady Flames dropped the first singles match but picked straight points on courts one, three and six to take the match win.
The Lady Flames (6-1 ASUN) move into a tie for first in the ASUN with just one match remaining. North Florida (14-6) also sports a 6-1 mark.
Liberty improves to 2-2 all-time against Stetson, avenging their 4-2 loss last season in the ASUN Women’s Tennis Championship final.
Thoughts From Head Coach Jeff Maren
“I could not be more proud of our team than I am today! We played with such mental strength and heart. Stetson is an outstanding team and well coached, so we had to be at our best to get the win. Maretha (Burger) played amazing at No. 6 today. She was in the zone. Esther overcame long odds to beat a player who owned her last season. She’s now our all-time wins leader but immediately deflected the praise to emphasize the team after the match. That’s who she is. We choose to give all the honor and glory to God. He is who we play for, and win or lose, we will continue to honor Him with our efforts. To God be the glory!”
Thoughts From Esther Lovato
“I am so grateful to be blessed with a team that are fighters, who give everything on the court and have so much love for each other. We have overcome so much adversity as a team, and I am so proud of each and every one of these girls. All glory to God who gives us strength, keeps us grounded and is the one who we play for. This win is so rewarding not because I beat the record, but because I had these girls by my side, fighting, believing and overcoming adversity. I want to thank my teammates and coaches who have supported me throughout my four years and have always had 100 percent confidence and belief in me. I love this team so much and am so grateful for all of them.”
Liberty 4, Stetson 3
Singles Competition
- M. Juliana P. Romero (LIBERTYW) def. A. DiFrancesco (STET) 6-2, 6-0
- Anais Gabriel (STET) def. Marina Davtyan (LIBERTYW) 7-5, 4-6, 1-0 (10-8)
- Esther Lovato (LIBERTYW) def. Cheri Darley (STET) 6-3, 6-1
- Noa Cohen (STET) def. Tiffany Nguyen (LIBERTYW) 6-4, 6-3
- Magda Hedrzak (STET) def. Elsa Kirch (LIBERTYW) 6-1, 6-0
- Maretha Burger (LIBERTYW) def. Pilar A. Harper (STET) 6-4, 6-1
Doubles Competition
- Tiffany Nguyen/M. Juliana P. Romero (LIBERTYW) def. A. DiFrancesco/Cheri Darley (STET) 6-4
- Magda Hedrzak/Pilar A. Harper (STET) def. Maretha Burger/Bruna Sampaio (LIBERTYW) 6-3
- Marina Davtyan/Esther Lovato (LIBERTYW) def. Noa Cohen/Anais Gabriel (STET) 6-1
Liberty 15-7, 5-2 ASUN
Stetson 15-7, 6-1 ASUN
Order of Finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (5,1,3,6,4,2)
How It Happened
• Liberty picked up the first doubles match in the blink of an eye on court three as Esther Lovato and Marina Davtyan (10-2) cruised past Noa Cohen and Anais Gabriel 6-1.
• The Lady Flames dropped the No. 2 doubles match but picked up the vital doubles point with a win on court one. The newly-ranked No. 90 pair of Maria Juliana Parra Romero and Tiffany Nguyen (6-1) took down Alanna DiFranceco and Cheri Darley 6-4.
• Stetson earned the first singles point by Magdalena Hedrzak defeating Elsa Kirch in the No. 5 singles matchup, 6-1, 6-0.
• Liberty reclaimed a 2-1 lead on court one as Parra Romero made quick work of DiFrancesco 6-2, 6-0. The sophomore improves to 14-3 for the spring.
• Lovato (15-4) earned the Lady Flames their third point by besting Darley 6-3, 6-1. Lovato lost twice to Darley last season. As mentioned previously, the junior earned her 93rd career singles triumph to claim the program record for total singles wins.
• Lovato has a 93-17 career singles record for a .845 winning percentage in her four seasons at Liberty.
• The Lady Flames earned their fourth point and clinched the match as Maretha Burger (6-7) was victorious over Pilar Astigarraga Harper 6-4, 6-1. Burger’s win made it 4-1 in favor of the guests.
• Stetson picked up the next point to trim the Liberty lead to 4-2. Cohen took down Liberty’s reigning ASUN Player of the Week, Tiffany Nguyen, 6-4, 6-3 on court four. Nguyen is tied for the team lead in singles wins with 15 to go along with 12 doubles wins this spring.
• The final match of the day favored Stetson in the No. 2 singles matchup. Davtyan (13-5) fell to Gabriel in a tight one that ended in an intense super tiebreaker third set. Davtyan dropped the first set 7-5 before answering back with a 6-4 second set. Gabriel ended up edging Davtyan to 10 points in the third set tiebreaker to earn the 7-5, 4-6, 1-0 (8) victory.
Next Up
• Liberty returns to action with another critical conference road matchup with FGCU (13-6, 4-2 ASUN) on Saturday. First serve is set for 5 p.m. from the FGCU Tennis Complex in Fort Myers, Fla.
• The Lady Flames look for more success against the Eagles, currently holding 1-5 against the school. The Lady Flames were victorious last time out against FGCU, taking down the top-seeded Eagles 4-0 in last year’s ASUN Women’s Tennis Championship semifinal round.
Main Photo at Top of Story: Esther Lovato
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,2,1
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
5,1,3,6,4,2