No. 71 Liberty Women’s Tennis to Honor Seniors in Two-Match Home Set
3/28/2024 12:46:00 PM | Women's Tennis
LYNCHBURG, Va. – The No. 71 Lady Flames tennis team prepares for back-to-back home non-conference contests, honoring their seniors after Friday's match against Radford and taking on Richmond Saturday. Both matches are set for a 1 p.m. first serve from the Liberty Tennis Complex.
No. 71 Liberty (10-5) looks to add to a three-match winning streak when it hosts the Radford Highlanders (3-12) and Richmond Spiders (5-5).
Liberty prepares to recognize five players on Friday for Senior Day – Esther Lovato, Tiffany Nguyen, Marina Davtyan, Priscila Janikian and Elsa Kirch.
The Lady Flames look to add to their dominant 8-0 home record. Liberty seeks to build on a 16-7 all-time mark against Radford, last meeting the Highlanders in 2021 and taking a 6-1 home victory. The Lady Flames aim to improve on a 5-3 all-time record against Richmond, most recently matching up in 2022. The Lady Flames secured a 4-0 home triumph over the Spiders in that contest.
Senior Day Notes
Esther Lovato (2019-24)
Tiffany Nguyen (2019-24)
Marina Davtyan (Tulsa 2018-20, Liberty 2020-24)
Priscila Janikian (UC Santa Barbara 2021-22, Liberty 2022-24)
Elsa Kirch (2021-24)
Lady Flames News & Notes
Opponents At-a-Glance
Radford
Richmond
No. 71 Liberty (10-5) looks to add to a three-match winning streak when it hosts the Radford Highlanders (3-12) and Richmond Spiders (5-5).
Liberty prepares to recognize five players on Friday for Senior Day – Esther Lovato, Tiffany Nguyen, Marina Davtyan, Priscila Janikian and Elsa Kirch.
The Lady Flames look to add to their dominant 8-0 home record. Liberty seeks to build on a 16-7 all-time mark against Radford, last meeting the Highlanders in 2021 and taking a 6-1 home victory. The Lady Flames aim to improve on a 5-3 all-time record against Richmond, most recently matching up in 2022. The Lady Flames secured a 4-0 home triumph over the Spiders in that contest.
Senior Day Notes
Esther Lovato (2019-24)
- 114 career singles wins, most in Liberty history, men's or women's.
- Owns an 83 percent singles winning percentage, has just 24 losses
- 51 career doubles wins, 24 wins with Marina Davtyan
- Three-time ASUN All-Conference selection, one first team, two second team selections.
- Four-time ITA Scholar-Athlete
- 2023 CSC Academic All-District® team
- Qualified for ASUN Academic Honor Roll four times
Tiffany Nguyen (2019-24)
- Fourth in Liberty program history with 71 career singles wins
- Third in program history with 84 career doubles wins
- Three-time ASUN All-Conference selection, third team in 2023, two second team selections
- Two-time ASUN Player of the Week
- No. 90 ITA doubles ranking with Maria Juliana Parra Romero
- Ranked No. 8 doubles pair in the Atlantic Region with Micaela Ode Mitre
- Two-time ITA Scholar Athlete, twice on the ASUN Academic Honor Roll
Marina Davtyan (Tulsa 2018-20, Liberty 2020-24)
- (For entire college career) 69 career singles wins, 45 wins at Liberty, owns a 20-5 record in the No. 2 position
- 60 career doubles wins, 48 wins at Liberty, 24 wins with partner Esther Lovato
- Dominated No. 3 doubles with a 29-6 record at Liberty
- Conference USA Player of the Month in October
- 2023 ASUN All-Conference second team
- 2023 VaSID All-State singles second team
- 2023 ITA Scholar-Athlete
- Two-time ASUN Honor Academic Roll recipient
Priscila Janikian (UC Santa Barbara 2021-22, Liberty 2022-24)
- 11 career singles wins, 22 career doubles wins
- No. 59 ITA doubles ranking with partner Danilla O'Neill on Feb. 7
- ITA Scholar-Athlete, ASUN Academic Honor Roll in 2023
Elsa Kirch (2021-24)
- 22 career wins, 75 percent doubles winning percentage in spring matches
- 2022 ITA Scholar-Athlete
- 2023 CSC Academic All-District® Women's Tennis Team
- Two-time ASUN Academic Honor Roll
Lady Flames News & Notes
- No. 71 Liberty opened its Conference USA portion of the schedule with a 4-0 win over Sam Houston last Friday.
- The Lady Flames can extend their winning streak to five matches with a pair of victories this weekend.
- Liberty is 8-0 at home in 2024 and looking to go to 10-0. The last time the Lady Flames finished a home season unbeaten was in 2019. Liberty finished 6-0 at home that season.
- Four Lady Flames, Maria Juliana Parra Romero (7-3), Lovato (7-4), Daniella O'Neill (7-5) and Maria Turchetto (7-6), are all tied with a team-best seven singles victories on the spring season.
- Liberty has dominated the No. 6 singles position in 2024 with a combination of Turchetto (3-1), Sadie Daavettila (3-3 at No. 6), O'Neill (2-0) and Nguyen (1-0).
- The Lady Flames seek more production from their No. 1 doubles slot. Liberty currently holds a 4-8 mark in the position.
Opponents At-a-Glance
Radford
- The Highlanders hold a 3-12 mark in 2024. Radford has faced similar foes Virginia Tech on Jan. 20 (lost 6-1), Missouri on Feb. 3 (lost 6-1) and James Madison on Feb. 16 (lost 6-1).
- Julia Abrams headlines Radford's singles lineup with a 7-8 record in the No. 1 position. The Highlanders have combined for a 5-25 mark between their No. 2 and 3 positions and a 5-20 record between the No. 5 and 6 singles slots.
- Radford has won a total of eight doubles matches this spring and just one match from the No. 1 position.
Richmond
- The Spiders own a 5-5 record this spring. Richmond has faced some familiar foes that Liberty has squared off with. The Spiders met Navy on Jan. 27 (won 4-3), VCU on Feb. 15 (lost 6-1) and Delaware on March 17 (lost 4-3).
- Carly Cohen (1-5) and Andrea Campodonico (1-2) have combined for a 2-7 record in the No. 1 singles position this season.
Players Mentioned
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