Sunday, February 18
Atlanta, Ga.
1:00 PM ET
Liberty University
5
at
2
Georgia State
Liberty Completes 2-0 Weekend with 5-2 Victory Over Georgia State
2/18/2024 7:54:00 PM | Men's Tennis
ATLANTA, Ga. – The Flames tennis team rallied in singles with four straight victories to dominate Georgia State 5-2 to covert a 2-0 weekend on Sunday. The match was played at the Lifetime Fitness in Peachtree Corners, Ga.
Liberty (7-3) completes a 2-0 weekend following a 4-0 win over Penn State on Friday. Georgia State dropped to 5-5 following the defeat.
The Flames, without one of their top performers in Rafael Marques Da Silva, dropped the doubles point. Luis Felipe Miguel and Matija Samardzic (6-1) were tasked with the No. 1 doubles role for the first time, suffering their first loss of the season. The other Flames duos stepped up to take the doubles point.
Liberty received key singles victories from its No. 5 Romeo Hadzimehmedovic and No. 6 Rodrigo Santiago Arraez. Both true freshmen are having big seasons for Liberty, with Hadzimehmedovic improving to 3-0 while Arraez increases his 2024 mark to a staggering 6-0.
Thando Longwe-Smit battled back from a disappointing first set to grab a pivotal win on court three, winning in a third set tiebreaker 1-6, 6-2, 7-6 (6).
The Flames improve to 2-2 on the road and 3-0 all-time against Georgia State.
Thoughts from Head Coach Derek Schwandt
"The guys battled hard as a team today. It was a match where we didn't have our best execution but competed tough."
Liberty 5, Georgia State 2
Singles Competition
1. Baran Soyler (GSU) def. Luis Felipe Miguel (LU) 6-1, 6-3
2. Deji Thomas-Smith (LU) def. Gabriele Datei (GSU) 7-5, 6-0
3. Thando Longwe-Smit (LU) def. Diogo Morais (GSU) 1-6, 6-2, 7-6 (0-6)
4. Maxwell Weir (GSU) def. Matija Samardzic (LU) 6-1, 7-5
5. R Hadzimehmedovic (LU) def. Naufal Kamaruzzaman (GSU) 7-5, 3-6, 6-4
6. R Santiago Arraez (LU) def. Michael Nicholls (GSU) 6-4, 7-5
Doubles Competition
1. Gabriele Datei/Diogo Morais (GSU) def. Luis Felipe Miguel/Matija Samardzic (LU) 6-4
2. R Hadzimehmedovic/Thando Longwe-Smit (LU) def. Naufal Kamaruzzaman/Baran Soyler (GSU) 7-5
3. Chase Robinson/Deji Thomas-Smith (LU) def. Michael Nicholls/Maxwell Weir (GSU) 6-3
Liberty 7-3
Georgia State 5-5
Order of Finish: Doubles (3, 1, 2); Singles (1, 4, 2, 6, 3, 5)
How it Happened
Doubles
Singles
Up Next
Liberty (7-3) takes on another two match weekend. The Flames face Dartmouth (6-3) at home from the Liberty Indoor Tennis Center on Friday at 3 p.m. Liberty then hits the road for a test against Charlotte (8-2) on Sunday at 12 p.m.
Liberty (7-3) completes a 2-0 weekend following a 4-0 win over Penn State on Friday. Georgia State dropped to 5-5 following the defeat.
The Flames, without one of their top performers in Rafael Marques Da Silva, dropped the doubles point. Luis Felipe Miguel and Matija Samardzic (6-1) were tasked with the No. 1 doubles role for the first time, suffering their first loss of the season. The other Flames duos stepped up to take the doubles point.
Liberty received key singles victories from its No. 5 Romeo Hadzimehmedovic and No. 6 Rodrigo Santiago Arraez. Both true freshmen are having big seasons for Liberty, with Hadzimehmedovic improving to 3-0 while Arraez increases his 2024 mark to a staggering 6-0.
Thando Longwe-Smit battled back from a disappointing first set to grab a pivotal win on court three, winning in a third set tiebreaker 1-6, 6-2, 7-6 (6).
The Flames improve to 2-2 on the road and 3-0 all-time against Georgia State.
Thoughts from Head Coach Derek Schwandt
"The guys battled hard as a team today. It was a match where we didn't have our best execution but competed tough."
Liberty 5, Georgia State 2
Singles Competition
1. Baran Soyler (GSU) def. Luis Felipe Miguel (LU) 6-1, 6-3
2. Deji Thomas-Smith (LU) def. Gabriele Datei (GSU) 7-5, 6-0
3. Thando Longwe-Smit (LU) def. Diogo Morais (GSU) 1-6, 6-2, 7-6 (0-6)
4. Maxwell Weir (GSU) def. Matija Samardzic (LU) 6-1, 7-5
5. R Hadzimehmedovic (LU) def. Naufal Kamaruzzaman (GSU) 7-5, 3-6, 6-4
6. R Santiago Arraez (LU) def. Michael Nicholls (GSU) 6-4, 7-5
Doubles Competition
1. Gabriele Datei/Diogo Morais (GSU) def. Luis Felipe Miguel/Matija Samardzic (LU) 6-4
2. R Hadzimehmedovic/Thando Longwe-Smit (LU) def. Naufal Kamaruzzaman/Baran Soyler (GSU) 7-5
3. Chase Robinson/Deji Thomas-Smith (LU) def. Michael Nicholls/Maxwell Weir (GSU) 6-3
Liberty 7-3
Georgia State 5-5
Order of Finish: Doubles (3, 1, 2); Singles (1, 4, 2, 6, 3, 5)
How it Happened
Doubles
- Liberty was able to grab an initial doubles match as Chase Robinson and Deji Thomas-Smith (3-1) took down Michael Nicholls and Maxwell Weir 6-3.
- Georgia State evened the score with a win on court one. In their first appearance in the No. 1 doubles position, Miguel and Samardzic (6-1) suffered their first loss of the season, falling to Gabriele Datei and Diogo Morais 6-4.
- The Flames grabbed the doubles point in a battle in the No. 2 doubles position. In their first appearance together, Hadzimehmedovic and Longwe-Smit edged Maufal Kamaruzzaman and Baran Soyler 7-5.
Singles
- Thrust into the No. 1 singles position, Miguel (5-3) was handled by Baran Soyler 6-1, 6-3. It was the second career appearance in the No. 1 position for Miguel and his first career defeat in the slot.
- Georgia State took a 2-1 lead in the No. 4 singles match. Samardzic (5-4) battled but fell to Weir 6-1, 7-5.
- Liberty evened the score at 2-2 on court two. Thomas-Smith (3-4) managed to hold off Datei in the first set then followed with a commanding second set to win 7-5, 6-0.
- The Flames earned their third point on court six. Stellar freshman Arraez (6-0)continues to dominate his competition, dropping Nicholls 6-4, 7-5.
- Liberty secured the match-winning fourth point in the No. 3 singles match. Longwe-Smit stepped up for the Flames after a startling first set. The senior persevered, dominating the second set and forcing a tiebreaker in the third set. In a back-and-forth bout, Longwe-Smit left little doubt after going up 7-6 to take the 1-6, 6-2, 7-6 (6).
- With the match in hand, Hadzimehmedovic topped Kamaruzzaman 7-5, 3-6, 6-4. Not to be overshadowed by fellow freshman Arraez, Hadimehmedovic also owns an unbeaten record (3-0) to kick off his Flames career.
Up Next
Liberty (7-3) takes on another two match weekend. The Flames face Dartmouth (6-3) at home from the Liberty Indoor Tennis Center on Friday at 3 p.m. Liberty then hits the road for a test against Charlotte (8-2) on Sunday at 12 p.m.
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Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1,2
#1 Singles Match
12
13
Baran Soyler / 0 [GSU]
66
#2 Singles Match
12
76
Gabriele Datei / 0 [GSU]
50
#3 Singles Match
123
167
Diogo Morais / 0 [GSU]
626
#4 Singles Match
12
15
Maxwell Weir / 0 [GSU]
67
#5 Singles Match
123
736
Naufal Kamaruzzaman / 0 [GSU]
564
#6 Singles Match
12
67
Michael Nicholls / 0 [GSU]
45
Order of Finish:
1,4,2,6,3,5
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ 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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