Saturday, January 13
Charlottesville, Va.
12:00 PM ET
Liberty University
1
at
6
Virginia
Santiago Wins in Liberty Debut as Liberty Falls to No. 1 Virginia 6-1
1/13/2024 3:25:00 PM | Men's Tennis
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The men's tennis team was taken down by two-time defending champion and No. 1 ranked Virginia, 6-1, on Saturday afternoon. Highlighting Liberty's first spring event was freshman Rodrigo Santiago Arraez who secured his first career win with a 6-4, 1-6, 1-0 (12-10) victory over Douglas Yaffa.
Virginia secured the doubles point with wins on courts one and two. The Flames did not record a point in the match until Santiago's third set tiebreaker victory. Liberty managed two first set wins in the match by Rafael Marques Da Silva and Santiago.
Santiago's win gives Liberty its first point in a dual match against Virginia since 2020 as the Flames fell 4-3 with Marques Da Silva and Deji Thomas-Smith each earning a win.
#1 Virginia 6, Liberty 1
Singles Competition
1. #22 Chris Rodesch (VA) def. R Marques Da Silva (LU) 4-6, 6-2, 6-0
2. Dylan Dietrich (VA) def. Thando Longwe-Smit (LU) 6-0, 6-0
3. #26 J vd Schulenburg (VA) def. Deji Thomas-Smith (LU) 6-1, 6-3
4. James Hopper (VA) def. Luis Felipe Miguel (LU) 6-2, 6-3
5. Mans Dahlberg (VA) def. Matija Samardzic (LU) 6-4, 6-4
6. R Santiago Arraez (LU) def. Douglas Yaffa (VA) 6-4, 1-6, 12-10
Doubles Competition
1. James Hopper/Edoardo Graziani (VA) def. Thando Longwe-Smit/R Marques Da Silva (LU) 6-1
2. Chris Rodesch/J vd Schulenburg (VA) def. Deji Thomas-Smith/Chase Robinson (LU) 6-4
3. Alexander Kiefer/Dylan Dietrich (VA) vs. Matija Samardzic/Luis Felipe Miguel (LU) 4-5, unfinished
Match notes:
Liberty 0-1
Virginia 1-0; National ranking #1
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (2,3,4,1,6)
T-2:30
Flames News & Notes
Up Next
Liberty prepares for its home opener on Jan. 21 as the squad takes on Radford at the Liberty Indoor Tennis Center. First serve is set for 12 p.m.
Virginia secured the doubles point with wins on courts one and two. The Flames did not record a point in the match until Santiago's third set tiebreaker victory. Liberty managed two first set wins in the match by Rafael Marques Da Silva and Santiago.
Santiago's win gives Liberty its first point in a dual match against Virginia since 2020 as the Flames fell 4-3 with Marques Da Silva and Deji Thomas-Smith each earning a win.
#1 Virginia 6, Liberty 1
Singles Competition
1. #22 Chris Rodesch (VA) def. R Marques Da Silva (LU) 4-6, 6-2, 6-0
2. Dylan Dietrich (VA) def. Thando Longwe-Smit (LU) 6-0, 6-0
3. #26 J vd Schulenburg (VA) def. Deji Thomas-Smith (LU) 6-1, 6-3
4. James Hopper (VA) def. Luis Felipe Miguel (LU) 6-2, 6-3
5. Mans Dahlberg (VA) def. Matija Samardzic (LU) 6-4, 6-4
6. R Santiago Arraez (LU) def. Douglas Yaffa (VA) 6-4, 1-6, 12-10
Doubles Competition
1. James Hopper/Edoardo Graziani (VA) def. Thando Longwe-Smit/R Marques Da Silva (LU) 6-1
2. Chris Rodesch/J vd Schulenburg (VA) def. Deji Thomas-Smith/Chase Robinson (LU) 6-4
3. Alexander Kiefer/Dylan Dietrich (VA) vs. Matija Samardzic/Luis Felipe Miguel (LU) 4-5, unfinished
Match notes:
Liberty 0-1
Virginia 1-0; National ranking #1
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (2,3,4,1,6)
T-2:30
Flames News & Notes
- Liberty's comeback bid in the third doubles match fell just short as the match went unfinished with Matija Samardzic and Luis Felipe Miguel finishing down 4-5 to Alexander Kiefer and Dylan Dietrich.
- Marques Da Silva jumped out in front of No. 22 Chris Rodesch with a 6-4 first set. Rodesch controlled the rest of the match, securing the 4-6, 6-2, 6-0 victory.
- Thando Longwe-Smit fought throughout but was defeated by Dietrich 6-0, 6-0.
- Thomas-Smith fell to No. 26 Jeffrey Von Der Schulenberg 6-1, 6-3.
- Felipe Miguel struggled to a 6-2, 6-3 loss, falling in multiple deuce points to James Hopper. The two faced off in the fall as Miguel was taken down 7-6 (7-4), 2-6, 6-4.
- Samardzic came back in both sets but fell to Mans Dahlberg 6-4, 6-4.
- In his Liberty debut, Santiago showed his grit, battling to a three-set victory over Yaffa 6-4, 1-6, 12-10. After being handled in the second set, the two bounced back with Santiago fighting off a match point at 9-8 to come back and take the match a few points later.
Up Next
Liberty prepares for its home opener on Jan. 21 as the squad takes on Radford at the Liberty Indoor Tennis Center. First serve is set for 12 p.m.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,2
#1 Singles Match
123
620
Chris Rodesch / 0 (22/-) [VA]
466
#2 Singles Match
12
00
Dylan Dietrich / 0 [VA]
66
#3 Singles Match
12
13
J vd Schulenburg / 0 (26/-) [VA]
66
#4 Singles Match
12
23
James Hopper / 0 [VA]
66
#5 Singles Match
12
44
Mans Dahlberg / 0 [VA]
66
#6 Singles Match
123
6112
Douglas Yaffa / 0 [VA]
4610
Order of Finish:
2,3,4,1,6
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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