Sunday, February 11
Lynchburg, Va.
12:00 PM ET
Liberty University
3
vs
4
Yale
Yale Ends Flames Four-Match Home Winning Streak with 4-3 Victory
2/11/2024 4:24:00 PM | Men's Tennis
LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Flames tennis team dropped four consecutive matches to Yale on Sunday, falling 4-3 at the Liberty Indoor Tennis Center.
Liberty (5-3) drops its first home match in 2024 as Yale improves to 5-1.
The Flames secured the doubles point with two comfortable wins on courts two and three. Liberty jumped ahead 2-0 before Yale stormed back with four consecutive singles wins to grab the 4-3 victory.
The two programs met for the first time in a spring match. The teams faced off in a hidden dual on Sept. 16. Yale secured five victories out of nine matches.
Thoughts from Head Coach Derek Schwandt
"We fought our hardest as a team today. It is definitely a match to build on and we are thankful for the strong competition. Expecting physicality and finishing strong are two areas of focus we have moving into next weekend at Penn State."
Thoughts from Matija Samardzic
"It was a really good level of tennis. Singles was tough, we lost four out of six, so that was tough. The score was 4-3 for them but it could have easily been 5-2, us. This is a good chance to improve. After this match, I think if we keep working, the victories are going to come."
On battling back in the second set of his match
"When I see the other guys competing and bringing the energy, I tell myself 'Alright, I have to do that as well,' and that helped me to battle back and win."
Yale 4, Liberty 3
Singles Competition
1. R Marques Da Silva (LIBERTYM) def. Theo Dean (YALE) 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 7-6 (8-6)
2. Vignesh Gogineni (YALE) def. Luis Felipe Miguel (LIBERTYM) 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
3. Eric Li (YALE) def. Deji Thomas-Smith (LIBERTYM) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
4. Jim Ji (YALE) def. Thando Longwe-Smit (LIBERTYM) 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-4)
5. Matija Samardzic (LIBERTYM) def. Roee Benya (YALE) 6-3, 6-4
6. Dylan Tsoi (YALE) def. Chase Robinson (LIBERTYM) 6-3, 7-6 (7-3)
Doubles Competition
1. R Marques Da Silva/Thando Longwe-Smit (LIBERTYM) vs. Roee Benya/Vignesh Gogineni (YALE) 4-4, unfinished
2. Deji Thomas-Smith/Chase Robinson (LIBERTYM) def. Eric Li/Jim Ji (YALE) 6-2
3. Matija Samardzic/Luis Felipe Miguel (LIBERTYM) def. Walker Oberg/Theo Dean (YALE) 6-3
Yale 5-1
Liberty 5-3
Order of Finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (5,6,4,3,2,1)
Official: Harrison, Harrison T-3:39
How it Happened
Doubles
Singles
Up Next
The Flames (5-3) head up to Penn State (4-5) for a Friday matchup at 5 p.m. Liberty faced the No. 46 Nittany Lions at home in 2023, besting Penn State 6-1. The Flames are 2-1 all-time facing the Nittany Lions. Liberty seeks its first road win of the 2024 season (0-2) with losses at No. 1 Virginia (6-1) and Princeton (6-1).
Liberty (5-3) drops its first home match in 2024 as Yale improves to 5-1.
The Flames secured the doubles point with two comfortable wins on courts two and three. Liberty jumped ahead 2-0 before Yale stormed back with four consecutive singles wins to grab the 4-3 victory.
The two programs met for the first time in a spring match. The teams faced off in a hidden dual on Sept. 16. Yale secured five victories out of nine matches.
Thoughts from Head Coach Derek Schwandt
"We fought our hardest as a team today. It is definitely a match to build on and we are thankful for the strong competition. Expecting physicality and finishing strong are two areas of focus we have moving into next weekend at Penn State."
Thoughts from Matija Samardzic
"It was a really good level of tennis. Singles was tough, we lost four out of six, so that was tough. The score was 4-3 for them but it could have easily been 5-2, us. This is a good chance to improve. After this match, I think if we keep working, the victories are going to come."
On battling back in the second set of his match
"When I see the other guys competing and bringing the energy, I tell myself 'Alright, I have to do that as well,' and that helped me to battle back and win."
Yale 4, Liberty 3
Singles Competition
1. R Marques Da Silva (LIBERTYM) def. Theo Dean (YALE) 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 7-6 (8-6)
2. Vignesh Gogineni (YALE) def. Luis Felipe Miguel (LIBERTYM) 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
3. Eric Li (YALE) def. Deji Thomas-Smith (LIBERTYM) 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
4. Jim Ji (YALE) def. Thando Longwe-Smit (LIBERTYM) 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-4)
5. Matija Samardzic (LIBERTYM) def. Roee Benya (YALE) 6-3, 6-4
6. Dylan Tsoi (YALE) def. Chase Robinson (LIBERTYM) 6-3, 7-6 (7-3)
Doubles Competition
1. R Marques Da Silva/Thando Longwe-Smit (LIBERTYM) vs. Roee Benya/Vignesh Gogineni (YALE) 4-4, unfinished
2. Deji Thomas-Smith/Chase Robinson (LIBERTYM) def. Eric Li/Jim Ji (YALE) 6-2
3. Matija Samardzic/Luis Felipe Miguel (LIBERTYM) def. Walker Oberg/Theo Dean (YALE) 6-3
Yale 5-1
Liberty 5-3
Order of Finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (5,6,4,3,2,1)
Official: Harrison, Harrison T-3:39
How it Happened
Doubles
- The Flames jumped ahead in the doubles round by a victory on court two from the pair of Deji Thomas-Smith and Chase Robinson (2-1) topped Eric Li and Jim Ji 6-2.
- Liberty secured the doubles point in the No. 3 doubles match. Luis Felipe Miguel and Matija Samardzic (6-0) bested Walker Oberg and Theo Dean 6-3.
- The No. 1 singles match went unfinished tied at 4-4 between Rafael Marques Da Silva/Thando Longwe-Smit and Roee Nenya/Vignesh Gogineni.
Singles
- Liberty grabbed a 2-0 lead on court five with Matija Samardzic dominating Roee Benya 6-3, 6-4.
- Yale earned the first of four consecutive points in the No. 6 singles match by Yale's Tsoi topping Robinson (4-2) 6-3, 7-6 (3). The two faced off in the fall with Robinson getting the better of Tsoi 6-2, 6-1.
- The Bulldogs evened the match at 2-2 on court four in a battle between Longwe-Smit (4-3) and Ji. After two mirrored tiebreak sets, Yale came out on top 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4).
- Yale grabbed a 3-2 lead in the No. 3 singles match in a back-and-forth bout. The Bulldogs' Li slipped past Thomas-Smith (2-4) with a commanding third set to win 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.
- The Bulldogs earned the match-clinching fourth point on court 2. Yale's Gogineni rebounded from a weak second set to rally past Miguel 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
- With the match clinched in the middle of the third set, the No. 1 singles match continued to play on. Marques Da Silva and Theo Dean traded blows and exchanged breaks with neither able to create a separation. The match saw two tiebreakers, favoring the Liberty senior, to help secure the 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (6) triumph.
Up Next
The Flames (5-3) head up to Penn State (4-5) for a Friday matchup at 5 p.m. Liberty faced the No. 46 Nittany Lions at home in 2023, besting Penn State 6-1. The Flames are 2-1 all-time facing the Nittany Lions. Liberty seeks its first road win of the 2024 season (0-2) with losses at No. 1 Virginia (6-1) and Princeton (6-1).
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
12
Roee Benya/ Vignesh Gogineni [YALE]
40
4UF
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,3
#1 Singles Match
123
Theo Dean / 0 [YALE]
666
747
#2 Singles Match
123
Vignesh Gogineni / 0 [YALE]
626
464
#3 Singles Match
123
Eric Li / 0 [YALE]
646
462
#4 Singles Match
12
Jim Ji / 0 [YALE]
77
66
#5 Singles Match
12
Roee Benya / 0 [YALE]
34
66
#6 Singles Match
12
Dylan Tsoi / 0 [YALE]
67
36
Order of Finish:
5,6,4,3,2,1
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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