Thursday, October 10
Norfolk, Va.
Liberty University
vs
ITA Atlantic Regional
Almeida and Auytayakul Secure ITA Atlantic Regional Doubles Championship
10/14/2024 2:15:00 PM | Men's Tennis
NORFOLK, Va. – Liberty newcomers Joaquim Almeida and Siwanat Auytayakul tore through the competition to claim the 2024 ITA Atlantic Regional Doubles title on Monday. The pair ran through elite competition, claiming five victories en route to topping Virginia Tech's Matt Harper and Alberto Orso 6-3, 6-4 to claim the automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA Individual Championships in Waco, Texas (Nov. 19-24).
Hosted by Old Dominion, the five-day, 19-team event was the second tournament that the Flames have participated in this fall. Liberty previously hosted the Liberty dual from Sept. 27-29.
The doubles pair received a bye in the round of 64 as the No. 4 seed and took full advantage of the opportunity. The duo dominated the first two rounds of play with an 8-2 triumph over George Mason and an 8-2 victory over ODU to advance to the quarterfinals.
On Sunday, the pair topped Virginia Tech's No. 63 (ITA national rankings) Frank Thompson and Maxime St-Hilaire 8-5. The two advanced to the tournament final with a gutsy 7-5, 4-6, 1-0 (8) triumph over No. 1 seed and No. 8 (ITA) ODU's Codie and Connor Van Schalkwyk.
With the title and automatic bid to the NCAA Individual Championships on the line, the Liberty pair showed what they were made of. The duo strung a pair 4 straight games in the first set to set up for a potentially match-winning second set. Facing a 3-4 deficit in the second set, Almeida and Auytayakul put together three straight games to claim the 6-3, 6-4 victory and the tournament title over the pair from Virginia Tech.
The title is the second in program history for a Liberty pair at the ITA Atlantic Regional following Shea Thomas and Jorge Azuero in 2013 (Advanced to the USTA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships). Only two Flames, Nicaise Muamba in 2019 and Sam Matheson in 2016, have ever qualified for the NCAA Individual Championships.
The Liberty Flames tennis team made a strong impression at the event in Norfolk, Va. The Flames combined for a 15-12 record with an even 9-9 singles record and a 6-3 doubles mark.
On the first day of the event, Ernst Gouws won a pair of singles matches to qualify for the main draw of the event. Gouws continued his strong play with a victory over Navy's Aniketh Ayinala 6-2, 6-4. His run came to an end with a 3-1 record following a loss to Old Dominion's Codie Van Schalkwyk, 7-6 (5), 6-0, 6-4.
Chase Robinson and freshman Siwanat Auytayakul left the event with a 2-1 mark in singles. Auytayakul led the Flames with seven overall wins, going 5-0 in doubles with partner Joaquim Almeida who did not play singles at the tournament.
Robinson paces the Flames with five singles wins across the teams' two events in the fall season.
Carl Roothman and Matija Samardzic both finished the tournament with a 1-1 mark. Samardzic collected a 2-2 overall record including a victory over Virginia's Setfan Regalia 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (4). He also performed to a 1-1 doubles output with partner Rodrigo Santiago Arraez.
Thoughts from Assistant Coach Kyle Seelig
"Big highlight, Jo (Joaquim) and Pun (Siwanat) winning regional doubles, I can't say enough about how well they completed. Had a huge win over ODU on their home courts, which is not easy to do you know it is a neutral tournament, everyone always plays better when they're home and they had a good crowd going for them and then the finals."
"The way that we competed, and then the rest of the team did some really good things. Matija (Samardzic) beating UVA had a good win, was down 5-1 in the third set and Chase (Robinson) had a couple of good wins, battled it out with UVA and lost in the third, a really hard-fought match."
"I think overall we did a really good job as a group of guys and competed well. We fought hard and competed like animals and champions, but at the same time, we have a lot to improve and get better at, so that's exciting. We did a lot of good things and it's great that we have a lot of things that we can get even better at."
Up Next
Liberty gets ready for a pair of individual tournaments at the ITF Futures events in Norman Okla. (Oct. 21) and Las Vegas, Nev. (Oct. 28-Nov. 2). Almeida and Autayakul will prepare for the NCAA Individual Championships in Waco, Texas (Nov. 19-24).
Hosted by Old Dominion, the five-day, 19-team event was the second tournament that the Flames have participated in this fall. Liberty previously hosted the Liberty dual from Sept. 27-29.
The doubles pair received a bye in the round of 64 as the No. 4 seed and took full advantage of the opportunity. The duo dominated the first two rounds of play with an 8-2 triumph over George Mason and an 8-2 victory over ODU to advance to the quarterfinals.
On Sunday, the pair topped Virginia Tech's No. 63 (ITA national rankings) Frank Thompson and Maxime St-Hilaire 8-5. The two advanced to the tournament final with a gutsy 7-5, 4-6, 1-0 (8) triumph over No. 1 seed and No. 8 (ITA) ODU's Codie and Connor Van Schalkwyk.
With the title and automatic bid to the NCAA Individual Championships on the line, the Liberty pair showed what they were made of. The duo strung a pair 4 straight games in the first set to set up for a potentially match-winning second set. Facing a 3-4 deficit in the second set, Almeida and Auytayakul put together three straight games to claim the 6-3, 6-4 victory and the tournament title over the pair from Virginia Tech.
The title is the second in program history for a Liberty pair at the ITA Atlantic Regional following Shea Thomas and Jorge Azuero in 2013 (Advanced to the USTA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships). Only two Flames, Nicaise Muamba in 2019 and Sam Matheson in 2016, have ever qualified for the NCAA Individual Championships.
The Liberty Flames tennis team made a strong impression at the event in Norfolk, Va. The Flames combined for a 15-12 record with an even 9-9 singles record and a 6-3 doubles mark.
On the first day of the event, Ernst Gouws won a pair of singles matches to qualify for the main draw of the event. Gouws continued his strong play with a victory over Navy's Aniketh Ayinala 6-2, 6-4. His run came to an end with a 3-1 record following a loss to Old Dominion's Codie Van Schalkwyk, 7-6 (5), 6-0, 6-4.
Chase Robinson and freshman Siwanat Auytayakul left the event with a 2-1 mark in singles. Auytayakul led the Flames with seven overall wins, going 5-0 in doubles with partner Joaquim Almeida who did not play singles at the tournament.
Robinson paces the Flames with five singles wins across the teams' two events in the fall season.
Carl Roothman and Matija Samardzic both finished the tournament with a 1-1 mark. Samardzic collected a 2-2 overall record including a victory over Virginia's Setfan Regalia 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (4). He also performed to a 1-1 doubles output with partner Rodrigo Santiago Arraez.
Thoughts from Assistant Coach Kyle Seelig
"Big highlight, Jo (Joaquim) and Pun (Siwanat) winning regional doubles, I can't say enough about how well they completed. Had a huge win over ODU on their home courts, which is not easy to do you know it is a neutral tournament, everyone always plays better when they're home and they had a good crowd going for them and then the finals."
"The way that we competed, and then the rest of the team did some really good things. Matija (Samardzic) beating UVA had a good win, was down 5-1 in the third set and Chase (Robinson) had a couple of good wins, battled it out with UVA and lost in the third, a really hard-fought match."
"I think overall we did a really good job as a group of guys and competed well. We fought hard and competed like animals and champions, but at the same time, we have a lot to improve and get better at, so that's exciting. We did a lot of good things and it's great that we have a lot of things that we can get even better at."
Up Next
Liberty gets ready for a pair of individual tournaments at the ITF Futures events in Norman Okla. (Oct. 21) and Las Vegas, Nev. (Oct. 28-Nov. 2). Almeida and Autayakul will prepare for the NCAA Individual Championships in Waco, Texas (Nov. 19-24).
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Team Stats
# Doubles Match
# Singles Match
Players Mentioned
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