Saturday, April 20
Murfreesboro, Tenn.
3:30 PM ET/2:30 PM CT
Liberty University
4
vs
2
Jacksonville State
No. 2 Seed Flames Top No. 3 seed Jax State 4-2, Advance to CUSA Final
4/20/2024 10:32:00 PM | Men's Tennis
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The No. 2 seed Flames took care of business on Saturday, besting No. 3 seed Jax State 4-2 to move on to the CUSA Men's Tennis Championship Final. No. 2 seed Liberty will face No. 1 seed and tournament host Middle Tennessee State on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Liberty (17-7) overcame dropping the doubles point to come back and defeat Jax State (15-10). The Flames fell on courts one and three in doubles to begin the day. Liberty secured two consecutive victories in the No. 4 and 3 singles matches before the Gamecocks evened the score at 2-2 in the No. 5 singles match. The Flames secured the win with a pair of two-set victories on courts two and six.
The Flames are seeking their third conference championship title in four years. Liberty secured back-to-back ASUN titles in 2021 and 2022.
Liberty is in its debut season in Conference USA. Saturday's match marked the first match facing a CUSA opponent in the Gamecocks, who are also in their first season in the league and transitioning from the ASUN.
The Flames improve to 5-1 all-time against Jax State. Liberty boosts its record to 7-5 away from Lynchburg (5-3 road, 2-2 neutral).
#53 Liberty 4, Jacksonville State 2
Singles Competition
1. R Marques Da Silva (LIBERTYM) vs. #87 Ivan Marrero Curbelo (JSU) 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, unfinished
2. Luis Felipe Miguel (LIBERTYM) def. Vanja Dobrnjac (JSU) 6-4, 6-3
3. Deji Thomas-Smith (LIBERTYM) def. Alin Fatu (JSU) 6-2, 6-3
4. Thando Longwe-Smit (LIBERTYM) def. Xavier Sarda Marti (JSU) 6-2, 6-1
5. Marko Milosavljevic (JSU) def. R Santiago Arraez (LIBERTYM) 6-4, 6-4
6. Chase Robinson (LIBERTYM) def. Liam Day (JSU) 6-4, 7-5
Doubles Competition
1. Zach Murphy/Marko Milosavljevic (JSU) def. Deji Thomas-Smith/Luis Felipe Miguel (LIBERTYM) 6-4
2. Thando Longwe-Smit/R Marques Da Silva (LIBERTYM) def. Vanja Dobrnjac/Lucius Soller (JSU) 6-2
3. Xavier Sarda Marti/Ivan Marrero Curbelo (JSU) def. R Hadzimehmedovic/Matija Samardzic (LIBERTYM) 6-2
Jacksonville State 15-10
Liberty 17-7; National ranking #53
Order of Finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (4,3,5,2,6)
2024 Conference USA Championship - Second Semifinal
Official: Ted Mason T-2:36 A-48
Doubles
Singles
Up Next
No. 2 seed Liberty (17-7) takes on No. 1 seed Middle Tennessee State (19-9) in the CUSA Men's Tennis Championship Final on Sunday. First serve is set for 1 p.m ET/12 p.m. CT.
Liberty (17-7) overcame dropping the doubles point to come back and defeat Jax State (15-10). The Flames fell on courts one and three in doubles to begin the day. Liberty secured two consecutive victories in the No. 4 and 3 singles matches before the Gamecocks evened the score at 2-2 in the No. 5 singles match. The Flames secured the win with a pair of two-set victories on courts two and six.
The Flames are seeking their third conference championship title in four years. Liberty secured back-to-back ASUN titles in 2021 and 2022.
Liberty is in its debut season in Conference USA. Saturday's match marked the first match facing a CUSA opponent in the Gamecocks, who are also in their first season in the league and transitioning from the ASUN.
The Flames improve to 5-1 all-time against Jax State. Liberty boosts its record to 7-5 away from Lynchburg (5-3 road, 2-2 neutral).
#53 Liberty 4, Jacksonville State 2
Singles Competition
1. R Marques Da Silva (LIBERTYM) vs. #87 Ivan Marrero Curbelo (JSU) 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, unfinished
2. Luis Felipe Miguel (LIBERTYM) def. Vanja Dobrnjac (JSU) 6-4, 6-3
3. Deji Thomas-Smith (LIBERTYM) def. Alin Fatu (JSU) 6-2, 6-3
4. Thando Longwe-Smit (LIBERTYM) def. Xavier Sarda Marti (JSU) 6-2, 6-1
5. Marko Milosavljevic (JSU) def. R Santiago Arraez (LIBERTYM) 6-4, 6-4
6. Chase Robinson (LIBERTYM) def. Liam Day (JSU) 6-4, 7-5
Doubles Competition
1. Zach Murphy/Marko Milosavljevic (JSU) def. Deji Thomas-Smith/Luis Felipe Miguel (LIBERTYM) 6-4
2. Thando Longwe-Smit/R Marques Da Silva (LIBERTYM) def. Vanja Dobrnjac/Lucius Soller (JSU) 6-2
3. Xavier Sarda Marti/Ivan Marrero Curbelo (JSU) def. R Hadzimehmedovic/Matija Samardzic (LIBERTYM) 6-2
Jacksonville State 15-10
Liberty 17-7; National ranking #53
Order of Finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (4,3,5,2,6)
2024 Conference USA Championship - Second Semifinal
Official: Ted Mason T-2:36 A-48
Doubles
- Jax State jumped ahead with a doubles triumph on court three. Romeo Hadzimehmedovic and Matija Samardzic (4-2) fell to Xavier Sarda Marti and Ivan Marrero Curbelo 6-2.
- Liberty evened the doubles round in the No. 2 match. Thando Longwe-Smit and Rafael Marques Da Silva (8-7) bested Vanja Dobrnjac and Lucius Soller 6-2.
- The Gamecocks clinched the doubles round on court one. After trading breaks, Jax State's Zach Murphy and Marko Milosavljevic grabbed three consecutive games to top Deji Thomas-Smith and Luis Felipe Miguel (2-2) 6-4.
Singles
- The Flames evened the match at 1-1 on court four. Longwe-Smit (12-10) dispatched Sarda Marti in controlling fashion 6-2, 6-1.
- Liberty jumped ahead 2-1 in the No. 3 singles match. Thomas-Smith (16-5) handled Alin Fatu 6-2, 6-3.
- Jax State answered with a match on court five. Despite competitive sets, Rodrigo Santiago Arraez (11-4) fell to Milosavljevic 6-4, 6-4.
- Liberty secured a critical 3-2 lead in the No. 2 singles match. Miguel (15-7) bested Dobrnjac 6-4, 6-3.
- Chase Robinson secured the match-winning fourth point for the Flames. The redshirt freshman rebounded after dropping a similar clinching match to No. 71 UNCW in Liberty's regular-season finale by topping Liam Day 6-4, 7-5.
- In the No. 1 singles match, Marques Da Silva stormed back after trailing 5-2 in the first set but fell in the first set in a tiebreaker. The Flame secured the second set over No. 87 Curbelo 6-7 (3), 6-4.
Up Next
No. 2 seed Liberty (17-7) takes on No. 1 seed Middle Tennessee State (19-9) in the CUSA Men's Tennis Championship Final on Sunday. First serve is set for 1 p.m ET/12 p.m. CT.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
1
Xavier Sarda Marti/ Ivan Marrero Curbelo [JSU]
6
2
Order of Finish:
3,2,1
#1 Singles Match
123
Ivan Marrero Curbelo / 0 (87/-) [JSU]
74UF
66UF
#2 Singles Match
12
Vanja Dobrnjac / 0 [JSU]
43
66
#3 Singles Match
12
Alin Fatu / 0 [JSU]
23
66
#4 Singles Match
12
Xavier Sarda Marti / 0 [JSU]
21
66
#5 Singles Match
12
Marko Milosavljevic / 0 [JSU]
66
44
#6 Singles Match
12
Liam Day / 0 [JSU]
45
67
Order of Finish:
4,3,5,2,6
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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