Liberty University
UC San Diego
Liberty Bests UC San Diego 4-0 in 1st Round of Inaugural NIT Championship
5/18/2023 7:25:00 PM | Men's Tennis
The No. 3 seed Flames made quick work of UC San Diego on Thursday, topping the Tritons 4-0 in the first round of the Universal Tennis NIT Championship.
This is the Flames' win in a postseason setting in program history, excluding conference tournaments.
Thursday marked the beginning of the inaugural NIT championship that will last through Saturday. All matches in the eight-team tournament field are being played at the Peachtree City Tennis Center.
Liberty earned the doubles point with a pair of 6-3 wins on courts three and one. The Flames stayed hot, winning three singles matches to secure the initial win of the NIT Championship.
Thursday's match marked the first ever meeting between the two programs.
The Flames will prepare to face No. 2 seed and No. 60-ranked Denver (15-8) tomorrow in the semifinals. The Pioneers topped The Citadel 4-0 in the quarterfinal round.
Thoughts From Head Coach Derek Schwandt
"We are excited to represent Liberty tomorrow and fight."
Liberty 4, UC San Diego 0
Singles Competition
- Josh Wilson (LIBERTYM) def. Daniel Traxler (UCSD) 6-4, 6-3
- Christiaan Worst (LIBERTYM) def. William Lan (UCSD) 6-3, 7-6 (9-7)
- Deji Thomas-Smith (LIBERTYM) def. Diogo Tinoco (UCSD) 6-2, 6-4
- Thando Longwe-Smit (LIBERTYM) vs. Pelayo Rodriguez (UCSD) 3-2, unfinished
- Luis Felipe Miguel (LIBERTYM) vs. Charles Qian (UCSD) unfinished
- Zion Heaven (LIBERTYM) vs. Joseph Teh (UCSD) 1-0, unfinished
Doubles Competition
- Josh Wilson/Christiaan Worst (LIBERTYM) def. Daniel Traxler/Pelayo Rodriguez (UCSD) 6-3
- Deji Thomas-Smith/Luis Felipe Miguel (LIBERTYM) vs. William Lan/Phillip Lan (UCSD) 5-3, unfinished
- Zion Heaven/Thando Longwe-Smit (LIBERTYM) def. Diogo Tinoco/Joseph Teh (UCSD) 6-3
Liberty 15-10
UC San Diego 7-19
Order of Finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (1,3,2)
2023 Universal Tennis NIT Championship Quarterfinals
T-2:32
How It Happened
• The Flames claimed the first doubles match on court three as Zion Heaven and Thando Longwe-Smit toppled Diogo Tinoco and Joseph Teh 6-3.
• Liberty secured the doubles point just after court three finished, as seniors Josh Wilson and Christiaan Worst came back from an early 2-1 deficit to defeat Daniel Traxler and Pelayo Rodriguez 6-3.
• With today's doubles win, Wilson now has 81 career doubles victories, one shy of matching the program record of 82 held by former Flame Shea Thomas.
• Wilson secured the first singles point of the match for a 2-0 lead after taking down Traxler 6-4, 6-3 in the No. 1 singles matchup. The match stayed tight throughout, but Wilson earned crucial break points to get the separation he needed.
• Thomas-Smith gave the Flames a commanding 3-0 lead on court three as he held off a second set comeback attempt from Diogo Tinoco. The Flames junior was up 5-2 in the second set before giving away two games to narrow the lead to 5-4. Thomas-Smith finished the job to earn a 6-2, 6-4 victory.
• The Flames clinched the win in the No. 2 singles match as Worst edged Phillip Lan in a second set tiebreak for a 6-3, 7-6 (7) triumph.
• Two matches went unfinished, with Thando Longwe-Smit up 3-2 facing Rodriguez on court one and Zion Heaven with a 1-0 advantage over Teh in the No. 6 singles matchup.
Up Next
• The Flames return tomorrow to face No. 2 seed Denver (16-8). Liberty has never faced Denver.
• The Pioneers secured the Summit League regular season title before being knocked off 4-1 by No. 69 Drake in the Summit League Championship final.
• All NIT Championship Matches are streamed on Amazon Prime Video.
Main Photo at Top of Story: Deji Thomas-Smith
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
1,3,2
Players Mentioned
