Saturday, March 23
Lynchburg, Va.
3:00 PM ET
Liberty University
4
vs
3
William & Mary
Thomas-Smith Leads No. 57 Flames to 4-3 Comeback Over No. 68 William & Mary
3/23/2024 9:47:00 PM | Men's Tennis
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Deji Thomas-Smith and the No. 57 Liberty men's tennis team put together a ferocious comeback to push past No. 68 William & Mary 4-3 on Saturday. The match was held in front of a rowdy Flames crowd at the Liberty Tennis Complex.
Liberty (13-5) dropped the doubles point to William & Mary (9-8) with two matches going 7-5 in the round. The Flames faced two key deficits in the singles round, down both 2-1 and 3-2 in the match.
Facing a 3-2 deficit, all eyes were on court three with Deji Thomas-Smith and four with Thando Longwe-Smit. In the No. 4 singles match, Longwe-Smit managed to force a 3-3 score, battling back from a disappointing first set to get a dominant 2-6, 7-6 (0), 6-1 win.
The match came down to Thomas-Smith on court three. Unlike Longwe-Smit, Thomas-Smith controlled the first set, but his foe responded with a 7-5 second set victory. The senior and his opponent traded blows in the third set until Thomas-Smith was facing a 5-4 deficit. Confronting match point, Thomas-Smith fought off a match point on deuce and chipped away to gain a 6-5 advantage in the set. Holding serve, Thomas-Smith worked his way to triple match point, grabbing the momentous 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 victory and winning the match for the Flames.
Thomas-Smith (11-4 singles) repeats his heroics from a few weeks prior, clinching the 4-3 victory over Charlotte match over No. 49 Charlotte on Feb. 25.
Liberty improves to 9-1 at home in 2024 and even its record to 7-7 all-time against William & Mary. The Flames achieved its third consecutive triumph over in-state programs this season. Liberty recently topped No. 42 Old Dominion 5-2 on March 8 and ousting Richmond 7-0 on Wednesday.
#57 Liberty 4, #68 William and Mary 3
Singles Competition
1. R Marques Da Silva (LIBERTYM) def. Alexandre Leblanc (WAM) 6-0, 6-1
2. Satchel Benn (WAM) def. Luis Felipe Miguel (LIBERTYM) 7-5, 7-5
3. Deji Thomas-Smith (LIBERTYM) def. Konstantinos Raptis (WAM) 6-2, 5-7, 7-5
4. Thando Longwe-Smit (LIBERTYM) def. Oliver Hague (WAM) 2-6, 7-6 (7-0), 6-1
5. Albert Hansen (WAM) def. R Santiago Arraez (LIBERTYM) 6-4, 6-4
6. Chase Robinson (LIBERTYM) def. Bill Duo (WAM) 6-2, 7-5
Doubles Competition
1. Bill Duo/Konstantinos Raptis (WAM) def. R Marques Da Silva/Thando Longwe-Smit (LIBERTYM) 6-2
2. Satchel Benn/Oliver Hague (WAM) def. Matija Samardzic/Luis Felipe Miguel (LIBERTYM) 7-5
3. Deji Thomas-Smith/R Hadzimehmedovic (LIBERTYM) def. Alexandre Leblanc/Nikita Bortnichek (WAM) 7-5
William and Mary 9-8; National ranking #68
Liberty 13-5; National ranking #57
Order of Finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (1,2,6,5,4)
Official: Harrison, Lunsford T-3:43
Doubles
Singles
Up Next
The No. 57 Flames hit the road for a pair of matches in Florida. Liberty (13-5) visits No. 46 Florida Atlantic (12-4) on Wednesday at 5 p.m. The Flames match up against No. 73 South Florida (9-11) on Friday at 1:30 p.m. The South Florida match will be streamed on ESPN+.
Liberty (13-5) dropped the doubles point to William & Mary (9-8) with two matches going 7-5 in the round. The Flames faced two key deficits in the singles round, down both 2-1 and 3-2 in the match.
Facing a 3-2 deficit, all eyes were on court three with Deji Thomas-Smith and four with Thando Longwe-Smit. In the No. 4 singles match, Longwe-Smit managed to force a 3-3 score, battling back from a disappointing first set to get a dominant 2-6, 7-6 (0), 6-1 win.
The match came down to Thomas-Smith on court three. Unlike Longwe-Smit, Thomas-Smith controlled the first set, but his foe responded with a 7-5 second set victory. The senior and his opponent traded blows in the third set until Thomas-Smith was facing a 5-4 deficit. Confronting match point, Thomas-Smith fought off a match point on deuce and chipped away to gain a 6-5 advantage in the set. Holding serve, Thomas-Smith worked his way to triple match point, grabbing the momentous 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 victory and winning the match for the Flames.
Thomas-Smith (11-4 singles) repeats his heroics from a few weeks prior, clinching the 4-3 victory over Charlotte match over No. 49 Charlotte on Feb. 25.
Liberty improves to 9-1 at home in 2024 and even its record to 7-7 all-time against William & Mary. The Flames achieved its third consecutive triumph over in-state programs this season. Liberty recently topped No. 42 Old Dominion 5-2 on March 8 and ousting Richmond 7-0 on Wednesday.
#57 Liberty 4, #68 William and Mary 3
Singles Competition
1. R Marques Da Silva (LIBERTYM) def. Alexandre Leblanc (WAM) 6-0, 6-1
2. Satchel Benn (WAM) def. Luis Felipe Miguel (LIBERTYM) 7-5, 7-5
3. Deji Thomas-Smith (LIBERTYM) def. Konstantinos Raptis (WAM) 6-2, 5-7, 7-5
4. Thando Longwe-Smit (LIBERTYM) def. Oliver Hague (WAM) 2-6, 7-6 (7-0), 6-1
5. Albert Hansen (WAM) def. R Santiago Arraez (LIBERTYM) 6-4, 6-4
6. Chase Robinson (LIBERTYM) def. Bill Duo (WAM) 6-2, 7-5
Doubles Competition
1. Bill Duo/Konstantinos Raptis (WAM) def. R Marques Da Silva/Thando Longwe-Smit (LIBERTYM) 6-2
2. Satchel Benn/Oliver Hague (WAM) def. Matija Samardzic/Luis Felipe Miguel (LIBERTYM) 7-5
3. Deji Thomas-Smith/R Hadzimehmedovic (LIBERTYM) def. Alexandre Leblanc/Nikita Bortnichek (WAM) 7-5
William and Mary 9-8; National ranking #68
Liberty 13-5; National ranking #57
Order of Finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (1,2,6,5,4)
Official: Harrison, Lunsford T-3:43
Doubles
- The Tribe jumped ahead with a dominant victory on court one with Rafael Marques Da Silva and Thando-Longwe Smit (5-5) falling 6-2 to Bill Duo and Konstantinos Raptis.
- Liberty fought back with a 7-5 victory in the No. 3 doubles match with Romeo Hadzimehmedovic and Deji Thomas-Smith (3-3) besting Satchel Benn and Oliver Hague.
- William & Mary secured the early advantage with a tight 7-5 victory on court two. Luis Felipe Miguel and Matija Samardzic (11-4) came up short 7-5 facing Alexandre Leblanc and Nikita Bortnichek.
Singles
- Marques Da Silva (10-4) responded from a tough doubles match to dominate Leblanc 6-0, 6-1 in the No. 1 singles match.
- The Tribe earned a 2-1 lead with a victory in the No. 2 singles match. Miguel (10-6) fell to Benn by a tight 7-5, 7-5 count.
- Chase Robinson (9-2) nearly let his second set slip away on court six after holding a 4-1 lead but secured a 6-2, 7-5 victory to even the match at 2-2
- Suffering his first loss of the season, freshman Rodrigo Santiago Arraez (10-1) lost his first singles match of his Liberty career, 6-4, 6-4 to Albert Hansen on court five.
- Down 3-2, Longwe-Smit (10-6) evened the match, battling from a difficult first set for a 2-6, 7-6 (0), 6-1 triumph over Hague on court five.
- With the match tied at 3-3, senior Deji Thomas-Smith (11-4) stepped up for the Flames once again. Thomas-Smith fought through a tight second and third set for a 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 victory. It was Thomas-Smith's ninth straight singles victory.
Up Next
The No. 57 Flames hit the road for a pair of matches in Florida. Liberty (13-5) visits No. 46 Florida Atlantic (12-4) on Wednesday at 5 p.m. The Flames match up against No. 73 South Florida (9-11) on Friday at 1:30 p.m. The South Florida match will be streamed on ESPN+.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
1
Alexandre Leblanc/ Nikita Bortnichek [WAM]
5
7
Order of Finish:
1,3,2
#1 Singles Match
12
Alexandre Leblanc / 0 [WAM]
01
66
#2 Singles Match
12
Satchel Benn / 0 [WAM]
77
55
#3 Singles Match
123
Konstantinos Raptis / 0 [WAM]
275
657
#4 Singles Match
123
Oliver Hague / 0 [WAM]
661
276
#5 Singles Match
12
Albert Hansen / 0 [WAM]
66
44
#6 Singles Match
12
Bill Duo / 0 [WAM]
25
67
Order of Finish:
1,2,6,5,4
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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