Saturday, April 13
Lynchburg, Va.
1:00 PM ET
Liberty University
3
vs
4
UNCW
No. 48 Liberty Concludes Its Regular Season with a 4-3 Loss to No. 71 UNCW
4/13/2024 10:42:00 PM | Men's Tennis
LYNCHBURG, Va. – The No. 48 Flames tennis team came up just short on Saturday, falling 4-3 to No. 71 UNCW at home Saturday afternoon. Liberty's three seniors, Rafael Marques Da Silva, Deji Thomas-Smith and Thando Longwe-Smit were honored in a pre-match ceremony in their final home match at the Liberty Tennis Complex.
No. 48 Liberty concludes its regular season with a 16-7 record following the loss to No. 71 UNCW (14-5). The Flames secured the doubles point with triumphs on courts two and one. Liberty climbed to a 3-1 lead but fell in the final three matches in the No. 1, 4 and 6 singles matches.
The final match, playing at a 3-3 stalemate, featured Liberty's Chase Robinson. The redshirt freshman faced a 5-3 deficit in the third set and proceeded to break multiple match points to tie the set at 5-5. UNCW's Jordi Domenech was undeterred however, securing the final two games to seal the 4-3 triumph for the Seahawks.
Liberty ends the 2024 regular season with a 10-2 record at home, the most home victories in a single season since the Flames won 11 home games in 2021 (20-7, 11-0 home).
Liberty falls to 1-8 all-time against the Seahawks.
#71 UNCW 4, #48 Liberty 3
Singles Competition
1. Harold Huens (UNCW) def. R Marques Da Silva (LIBERTYM) 6-3, 6-4
2. Luis Felipe Miguel (LIBERTYM) def. Bekhzod Rasamatov (UNCW) 6-4, 6-2
3. Deji Thomas-Smith (LIBERTYM) def. Reece Falck (UNCW) 7-6 (8-6), 6-1
4. Gabe Hurtado (UNCW) def. Thando Longwe-Smit (LIBERTYM) 6-2, 2-6, 6-2
5. Trey Mallory (UNCW) def. Matija Samardzic (LIBERTYM) 7-6 (7-5), 6-2
6. Jordi Domenech (UNCW) def. Chase Robinson (LIBERTYM) 4-6, 7-5, 7-5
Doubles Competition
1. Deji Thomas-Smith/Luis Felipe Miguel (LIBERTYM) def. Reece Falck/Harold Huens (UNCW) 6-4
2. R Marques Da Silva/Thando Longwe-Smit (LIBERTYM) def. Drew Broadstreet/Bekhzod Rasamatov (UNCW) 6-3
3. Gabe Hurtado/Trey Mallory (UNCW) def. Matija Samardzic/R Hadzimehmedovic (LIBERTYM) 6-4
UNCW 14-5; National ranking #71
Liberty 16-7; National ranking #48
Order of Finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (3,5,2,1,4,6)
Doubles
Singles
Up Next
No. 48 Liberty (16-7) prepares to travel for the Conference USA Men's Tennis Championship in Murfreesboro, Tenn. The four-team tournament will take place on April 20, 21. Liberty's first opponent is to be determined.
No. 48 Liberty concludes its regular season with a 16-7 record following the loss to No. 71 UNCW (14-5). The Flames secured the doubles point with triumphs on courts two and one. Liberty climbed to a 3-1 lead but fell in the final three matches in the No. 1, 4 and 6 singles matches.
The final match, playing at a 3-3 stalemate, featured Liberty's Chase Robinson. The redshirt freshman faced a 5-3 deficit in the third set and proceeded to break multiple match points to tie the set at 5-5. UNCW's Jordi Domenech was undeterred however, securing the final two games to seal the 4-3 triumph for the Seahawks.
Liberty ends the 2024 regular season with a 10-2 record at home, the most home victories in a single season since the Flames won 11 home games in 2021 (20-7, 11-0 home).
Liberty falls to 1-8 all-time against the Seahawks.
#71 UNCW 4, #48 Liberty 3
Singles Competition
1. Harold Huens (UNCW) def. R Marques Da Silva (LIBERTYM) 6-3, 6-4
2. Luis Felipe Miguel (LIBERTYM) def. Bekhzod Rasamatov (UNCW) 6-4, 6-2
3. Deji Thomas-Smith (LIBERTYM) def. Reece Falck (UNCW) 7-6 (8-6), 6-1
4. Gabe Hurtado (UNCW) def. Thando Longwe-Smit (LIBERTYM) 6-2, 2-6, 6-2
5. Trey Mallory (UNCW) def. Matija Samardzic (LIBERTYM) 7-6 (7-5), 6-2
6. Jordi Domenech (UNCW) def. Chase Robinson (LIBERTYM) 4-6, 7-5, 7-5
Doubles Competition
1. Deji Thomas-Smith/Luis Felipe Miguel (LIBERTYM) def. Reece Falck/Harold Huens (UNCW) 6-4
2. R Marques Da Silva/Thando Longwe-Smit (LIBERTYM) def. Drew Broadstreet/Bekhzod Rasamatov (UNCW) 6-3
3. Gabe Hurtado/Trey Mallory (UNCW) def. Matija Samardzic/R Hadzimehmedovic (LIBERTYM) 6-4
UNCW 14-5; National ranking #71
Liberty 16-7; National ranking #48
Order of Finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (3,5,2,1,4,6)
Doubles
- Liberty kicked off the day with a doubles victory on court two. The senior pairing of Rafael Marques Da Silva and Thando Longwe-Smit (7-7) topped Drew Broadstreet and Bekhzod Rasmatov 6-3.
- The Flames clinched the doubles point in the No. 1 doubles match. Senior Deji Thomas-Smith and Luis Felipe Miguel (2-1) bested Reece Falck and Harold Huens 6-3.
- With the doubles point clinched, Romeo Hadzimehmedovic and Matija Samardzic fell to Gabe Hurtado and Trey Mallory 6-4 on court three.
Singles
- Liberty took the first singles match of the day on court three. Senior Thomas-Smith (15-5) secured a tiebreaker first set before cruising in the second set to get past Falck 7-6 (8), 6-1. The senior concludes the spring season with a team-best 15 singles wins.
- The Seahawks jumped on the board with a win in the No. 5 singles match. Samardzic (5-8) could not overcome, falling in a first-set tiebreaker and ultimately falling to Mallory 7-6 (5), 6-2.
- The Flames grabbed an overall 3-1 lead on court two. Miguel (14-7) handled Rasamatov 6-4, 6-2.
- UNCW began its comeback push with a crucial victory in the No. 1 singles match. Marques Da Silva (11-8) fought for every point but could not overcome Huens, dropping the match 6-3, 6-4.
- The match was tied after UNCW secured court four. Longwe-Smit (11-10) was on the wrong end of a back-and-forth bout that went Hurtado's way 6-2, 2-6, 6-4.
- As the last match on, Robinson's (11-3) comeback bid in the third set fell short, falling 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 to Domenech.
Up Next
No. 48 Liberty (16-7) prepares to travel for the Conference USA Men's Tennis Championship in Murfreesboro, Tenn. The four-team tournament will take place on April 20, 21. Liberty's first opponent is to be determined.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
1
Drew Broadstreet/ Bekhzod Rasamatov [UNCW]
3
6
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1,3
#1 Singles Match
12
Harold Huens / 0 [UNCW]
66
34
#2 Singles Match
12
Bekhzod Rasamatov / 0 [UNCW]
42
66
#3 Singles Match
12
Reece Falck / 0 [UNCW]
61
76
#4 Singles Match
123
Gabe Hurtado / 0 [UNCW]
626
262
#5 Singles Match
12
Trey Mallory / 0 [UNCW]
76
62
#6 Singles Match
123
Jordi Domenech / 0 [UNCW]
477
655
Order of Finish:
3,5,2,1,4,6
Players Mentioned
/ 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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