No. 2 Seed Liberty Gears up for CUSA Championships, Open Against Jax State
4/18/2024 5:12:00 PM | Men's Tennis
LYNCHBURG, Va. – The No. 2 seed Flames tennis team is set to face No. 3 seed Jax State in the semifinal round of the Conference USA Men's Tennis Championship on Saturday. The CUSA Men's Tennis Championship is held on April 20 and 21, hosted by Middle Tennessee in Murfreesboro, Tenn. All matches will be streamed on ESPN+.
No. 53 (ITA ranking) and No. 2 seed Liberty (16-7) will be playing its first match as a member of the conference when it takes on Jax State (15-9). Because CUSA did not have a regular set of matches this season, this will be Liberty's first glimpse of CUSA play. The winner will move on to the CUSA Championship Final on Sunday to face the victor of Saturday's No. 34 (ITA ranking) and No. 1 seed Middle Tennessee (18-9) matchup with No. 4 seed New Mexico State (8-12).
Liberty wrapped up the regular season with losses in two of its three final matchups, falling to No. 39 VCU and No. 71 UNCW.
The Flames are facing a familiar foe despite the move to Conference USA in 2024. Liberty battled Jax State twice last season as league mates with the Gamecocks in the Atlantic Sun. The Flames swept both matchups, 7-0 on March 26 and 4-0 on April 14. The most recent matchup took place as part of the first round of the 2023 ASUN Men's Tennis Championship. Liberty is 4-1 all-time against Jax State.
Flames News & Notes
Rafael Marques Da Silva- Graduate Senior (11-8 singles, 7-7 doubles)
Luis Felipe Miguel- Sophomore- (14-7 singles, 13-6 doubles)
Deji Thomas-Smith- Graduate Senior- (15-5 singles, 10-8 doubles)
Thando Longwe-Smit- Redshirt Senior- (11-10 singles, 8-9 doubles)
Rodrigo Santiago Arraez- Freshman- (11-3 singles, 0-1 doubles)
Chase Robinson- Redshirt Freshman- (11-3 singles, 5-4 doubles)
Matija Samardzic- Freshman- (5-8 singles, 15-6 doubles)
No. 53 (ITA ranking) and No. 2 seed Liberty (16-7) will be playing its first match as a member of the conference when it takes on Jax State (15-9). Because CUSA did not have a regular set of matches this season, this will be Liberty's first glimpse of CUSA play. The winner will move on to the CUSA Championship Final on Sunday to face the victor of Saturday's No. 34 (ITA ranking) and No. 1 seed Middle Tennessee (18-9) matchup with No. 4 seed New Mexico State (8-12).
Liberty wrapped up the regular season with losses in two of its three final matchups, falling to No. 39 VCU and No. 71 UNCW.
The Flames are facing a familiar foe despite the move to Conference USA in 2024. Liberty battled Jax State twice last season as league mates with the Gamecocks in the Atlantic Sun. The Flames swept both matchups, 7-0 on March 26 and 4-0 on April 14. The most recent matchup took place as part of the first round of the 2023 ASUN Men's Tennis Championship. Liberty is 4-1 all-time against Jax State.
Flames News & Notes
- Liberty finished the season with a 10-2 home record and a 6-5 mark away from Lynchburg (5-3 road, 1-2 neutral).
- The Flames battled nine programs that currently carry an ITA national ranking. The Flames are 3-6 in such matches. Liberty also topped foes that carried a ranking at the time of the match including besting No. 65 Dartmouth 6-1 (Feb. 23), topping No. 68 William & Mary 4-3 (March 23) and besting No. 69 South Florida 4-2 (March 29).
- Liberty seeks its third conference championship title in program history. The Flames secured back-to-back Atlantic Sun Men's Tennis Championship titles between the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
- Six Flames have recorded at least 10 singles victories this spring. Deji Thomas-Smith paces Liberty with 15 singles wins.
- Despite the pairing of Luis Felipe Miguel and Matija Samardzic leading doubles pairs with 11 triumphs this season, the duo projects to play with different partners. Miguel is set to play alongside Thomas-Smith (2-1) while Samardzic prepares to play with fellow freshman Romeo Hadzimehmedovic (4-1).
Rafael Marques Da Silva- Graduate Senior (11-8 singles, 7-7 doubles)
- Overall Record (including fall): 18-12 singles, 14-10 doubles
- Has played every singles matches in the No. 1 slot, has made the four most recent appearances in the No. 2 position, but has played the majority of matches in the No. 1 doubles slot with partner Thando Longwe-Smit.
- Ranks third in program history with 83 career singles wins
- Ranks sixth in program history with 67 career doubles victories
- Has held two national rankings this season, No. 111 on March 5 and No. 102 on April 2
- Awarded as the CUSA Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week in back-to-back weeks (March 20, 27)
- Owns a 2-4 record against ranked opponents. Has bested Boise State's No. 43 Sam Sippell 6-4, 7-6 (6) and South Florida's No. 48 Alvin Tudorica 7-5, 7-5.
- Was awarded the ASUN Men's Tennis Championship MVP and All-Tournament team in 2021
- Three-time ASUN All-Conference selection, two-time first team selection (2021, 2023), second team in 2022 and selected to the ASUN All-Freshman team in 2021.
- Named the ASUN Doubles Pair of the Year and VaSID All-State doubles second team in 2022 with partner Nicaise Muamba.
Luis Felipe Miguel- Sophomore- (14-7 singles, 13-6 doubles)
- Overall Record (including fall): 22-12 singles, 18-8 doubles
- Has played singles matches in the No. 2 position. Has appeared across all three doubles positions
- Won a singles match in the No. 1 position, 7-5, 6-0 over Longwood's Timeo Puech (Jan. 27
- Leads Liberty in doubles wins, has played with Matija Samardzic (and Deji Thomas-Smith (2-1).
- Named to the ASUN All-Freshman team in 2023
Deji Thomas-Smith- Graduate Senior- (15-5 singles, 10-8 doubles)
- Overall Record (including fall): 19-8 singles, 13-10 doubles
- Has played primarily in the No. 3 singles slot. Has played across all three doubles positions
- Held an 11-match singles winning streak from Feb. 16-March 29.
- Ranks third in program history with 84 career singles victories.
- Received the CUSA Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week twice this season (Feb. 21, April 3)
- Leads Liberty with 15 singles wins this season
- Named to the 2024 CUSA All-Academic team
- Clinched the doubles point and the title point for Liberty's first-ever conference title in 2021
- Awarded the ASUN All-Conference first team, ASUN All-Tournament team, VaSID All-State singles second team and the ASUN All-Freshman team in 2021.
Thando Longwe-Smit- Redshirt Senior- (11-10 singles, 8-9 doubles)
- Overall Record (including fall): 16-15 singles, 15-12 doubles
- Has played primarily in the No. 4 singles position. Has appeared in the No. 1 and 2 doubles slot with partner Marques Da Silva
- Clinched Liberty's second consecutive ASUN title, coming back to top No. 71 FGCU's Juan Lopez 1-6, 7-6 (1), 6-2.
- Named the CUSA Athlete of the Month for October (2023).
- Has played all but three doubles matches with partner Marques Da Silva
Rodrigo Santiago Arraez- Freshman- (11-3 singles, 0-1 doubles)
- Overall Record (including fall): Did not play in the fall season
- Has played between the No. 5 and 6 singles positions
- Began Liberty career with 10 consecutive singles triumphs. The best start for a Liberty freshman under Head Coach Derek Schwandt
- Topped No. 1 Virginia's Douglas Yaffa 6-4, 1-6, 1-0 (10) in Liberty debut
Chase Robinson- Redshirt Freshman- (11-3 singles, 5-4 doubles)
- Overall Record (including fall): 18-5 singles, 10-7 doubles
- Has made every appearance in the No. 6 singles position. Has played across all three doubles slots
- Named to the 2024 CUSA All-Academic team
- Secured a seven-match singles win streak from Feb. 23-April 7
Matija Samardzic- Freshman- (5-8 singles, 15-6 doubles)
- Overall Record (including fall): 7-13 singles, 19-9 doubles
- Has played across all three doubles positions
- Made just two singles appearances in March
Players Mentioned
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