Wednesday, March 27
Boca Raton, Fla.
5:00 PM ET
Liberty University
4
at
3
Florida Atlantic
No. 55 Liberty Routs No. 45 Florida Atlantic 4-3 on the Road
3/27/2024 10:15:00 PM | Men's Tennis
BOCA RATON, Fla. – The No. 55 Flames tennis team clinched the match over No. 45 Florida Atlantic at 4-1 before ending with a 4-3 final on Wednesday night. The match was played at the Kimberly V. Strauss Tennis Center in Boca Raton, Fla.
Liberty (14-5) dropped the doubles point in the second consecutive match to give FAU (12-5) the 1-0 advantage. The Flames stormed back with four consecutive wins on courts six, four, and two before Deji Thomas-Smith clinched the match on court three in the second straight match.
The Flames bested a ranked opponent for the third consecutive matchup, previously topping No. 42 Old Dominion 5-2 on March 8 and No. 68 William & Mary 4-3 last Saturday.
Liberty improves to 5-4 away from Lynchburg and to 2-2 all-time against Florida Atlantic.
Thoughts from Head Coach Derek Schwandt
"The team did a great job of responding and being relentless throughout the match. Reset fight, Flames.
#55 Liberty 4, #45 Florida Atlantic 3
Singles Competition
1. Alberto Colas (FAU) def. R Marques Da Silva (LIBERTYM) 7-6 (7-4), 6-4
2. Luis Felipe Miguel (LIBERTYM) def. Juan Martin Jalif (FAU) 6-2, 7-5
3. Deji Thomas-Smith (LIBERTYM) def. Jiri Jenicek (FAU) 7-6 (7-3), 6-2
4. Thando Longwe-Smit (LIBERTYM) def. Mark Havlicek (FAU) 6-2, 1-6, 6-1
5. John Bernard (FAU) def. R Santiago Arraez (LIBERTYM) 6-7 (1-7), 6-3, 1-0 (10-3)
6. Chase Robinson (LIBERTYM) def. Kurt Miller (FAU) 6-2, 6-4
Doubles Competition
1. Alberto Colas/Juan Martin Jalif (FAU) def. R Marques Da Silva/Thando Longwe-Smit (LIBERTYM) 6-4
2. Mark Havlicek/Jiri Jenicek (FAU) vs. R Hadzimehmedovic/Deji Thomas-Smith (LIBERTYM) 5-4, unfinished
3. Joao Graca/Simon Myslivec (FAU) def. Matija Samardzic/Luis Felipe Miguel (LIBERTYM) 6-2
Liberty 14-5; National ranking #55
Florida Atlantic 12-5; National ranking #45
Order of Finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (6,4,2,3,1,5)
T-2:45
Doubles
Singles
Up Next
No. 55 Liberty (14-5) concluded its road trip to Florida on Friday against No. 69 South Florida (9-11). First serve is set for 1:30 p.m. with the match being broadcast on ESPN+.
Liberty (14-5) dropped the doubles point in the second consecutive match to give FAU (12-5) the 1-0 advantage. The Flames stormed back with four consecutive wins on courts six, four, and two before Deji Thomas-Smith clinched the match on court three in the second straight match.
The Flames bested a ranked opponent for the third consecutive matchup, previously topping No. 42 Old Dominion 5-2 on March 8 and No. 68 William & Mary 4-3 last Saturday.
Liberty improves to 5-4 away from Lynchburg and to 2-2 all-time against Florida Atlantic.
Thoughts from Head Coach Derek Schwandt
"The team did a great job of responding and being relentless throughout the match. Reset fight, Flames.
#55 Liberty 4, #45 Florida Atlantic 3
Singles Competition
1. Alberto Colas (FAU) def. R Marques Da Silva (LIBERTYM) 7-6 (7-4), 6-4
2. Luis Felipe Miguel (LIBERTYM) def. Juan Martin Jalif (FAU) 6-2, 7-5
3. Deji Thomas-Smith (LIBERTYM) def. Jiri Jenicek (FAU) 7-6 (7-3), 6-2
4. Thando Longwe-Smit (LIBERTYM) def. Mark Havlicek (FAU) 6-2, 1-6, 6-1
5. John Bernard (FAU) def. R Santiago Arraez (LIBERTYM) 6-7 (1-7), 6-3, 1-0 (10-3)
6. Chase Robinson (LIBERTYM) def. Kurt Miller (FAU) 6-2, 6-4
Doubles Competition
1. Alberto Colas/Juan Martin Jalif (FAU) def. R Marques Da Silva/Thando Longwe-Smit (LIBERTYM) 6-4
2. Mark Havlicek/Jiri Jenicek (FAU) vs. R Hadzimehmedovic/Deji Thomas-Smith (LIBERTYM) 5-4, unfinished
3. Joao Graca/Simon Myslivec (FAU) def. Matija Samardzic/Luis Felipe Miguel (LIBERTYM) 6-2
Liberty 14-5; National ranking #55
Florida Atlantic 12-5; National ranking #45
Order of Finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (6,4,2,3,1,5)
T-2:45
Doubles
- Liberty got off to a slow start to the match, dropping the doubles point for their second straight match. FAU secured the first doubles match on court three. Matija Samardzic and Luis Felipe Miguel (11-5) were taken down by Joao Graca and Simon Myslevic 6-2.
- The Owls secured the doubles point in the No. 1 doubles match. Rafael Marques Da Silva and Thando Longwe-Smit (5-6) lost to Alberto Colas and Juan Martin Jalif.
- Court two's match went unfinished with FAU's Mark Havilcek and Jiri Jenicek leading 5-4 over Romeo Hadzimehmedovic and Deji Thomas-Smith (3-3).
Singles
- Chase Robinson (10-2) earned Liberty's first point with a 6-2, 6-4 triumph over Kurt Miller in the No. 6 singles match.
- Longwe-Smit (11-6) secured a 2-1 lead for the Flames with a back-and-forth three set win (6-2, 1-6, 6-1) over Havlicek on court four.
- Liberty grabbed a commanding 3-1 lead with a Miguel (11-6) win over Jalif 6-2, 7-5 on court two.
- For the second straight match, Thomas-Smith (12-4) clinched the match-winning fourth point in the No. 3 singles match. The senior bested Jenichek with a 7-6 (3), 6-2 victory. Thomas-Smith extends his winning streak to 10 consecutive singles matches.
- FAU grabbed the first of two singles matches on court one. Marques Da Silva (10-5), coming off receiving back-to-back Conference USA Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week awards, fell to Colas 7-6 (4), 6-4.
- The Owls concluded the match with John Bernard beating Rodrigo Santiago Arraez (10-2) 6-7 (1-7), 6-3, 1-0 (3).
Up Next
No. 55 Liberty (14-5) concluded its road trip to Florida on Friday against No. 69 South Florida (9-11). First serve is set for 1:30 p.m. with the match being broadcast on ESPN+.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1
#1 Singles Match
12
64
Alberto Colas / 0 [FAU]
76
#2 Singles Match
12
67
Juan Martin Jalif / 0 [FAU]
25
#3 Singles Match
12
76
Jiri Jenicek / 0 [FAU]
62
#4 Singles Match
123
616
Mark Havlicek / 0 [FAU]
261
#5 Singles Match
123
730
John Bernard / 0 [FAU]
661
#6 Singles Match
12
66
Kurt Miller / 0 [FAU]
24
Order of Finish:
1,6,2,4,3,5
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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