No. 45 Flames Down Elon 4-3

LYNCHBURG, Va. – The No. 45 Liberty men's tennis team topped Elon 4-3 at home on Sunday afternoon. Liberty rebounds from a tough loss at No. 39 VCU on Friday with four straight match points to best Elon.

The No. 45 Flames (16-6) jumped ahead with two doubles wins on courts three and one. Liberty kept rolling with a pair of two set singles triumphs in the No. 6 and 3 matches. Luis Felipe Miguel clinched the match-winning fourth point with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 victory on court two. Elon claimed the final three matches of the singles round.

Liberty improves to 10-1 at home with just a single home match remaining in 2024.

The Flames improves to 6-10 all-time against Elon.

Thoughts from Head Coach Derek Schwandt
"It was a strong doubles point and start to singles. The task is always to be locked in from start to finish. No points off mentality from to start of doubles until the end of singles."

#45 Liberty 4, Elon 3

Singles Competition
1. Veljko Krstic (EMT) def. R Marques Da Silva (LIBERTYM) 1-6, 6-2, 7-5
2. Luis Felipe Miguel (LIBERTYM) def. Oskar Antinheimo (EMT) 6-3, 2-6, 6-2
3. Deji Thomas-Smith (LIBERTYM) def. Juan Sengariz (EMT) 6-2, 6-2
4. Jack Curtis (EMT) def. Thando Longwe-Smit (LIBERTYM) 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6)
5. Dylan Heap (EMT) def. R Santiago Arraez (LIBERTYM) 7-5, 5-7, 1-0 (10-5)
6. Chase Robinson (LIBERTYM) def. Ben Zipay (EMT) 6-2, 6-2

Doubles Competition
1. Luis Felipe Miguel/Deji Thomas-Smith (LIBERTYM) def. Juan Sengariz/Ben Zipay (EMT) 6-3
2. R Marques Da Silva/Thando Longwe-Smit (LIBERTYM) vs. Dylan Heap/Veljko Krstic (EMT) 4-4, unfinished
3. R Hadzimehmedovic/Matija Samardzic (LIBERTYM) def. Oskar Antinheimo/Jack Curtis (EMT) 6-3

Elon 12-8
Liberty 16-6; National ranking #45
Order of Finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (6,3,2,1,5,4)
T-3:37

Doubles

The Flames grabbed a quick start in the No. 3 doubles match. Romeo Hadzimehmedovic and Matija Samardzic (4-0) continue rolling with a 6-3 triumph over Oskar Antinheimo and Jack Curtis.
Liberty secured the doubles point on court one. Deji Thomas-Smith and Luis Felipe Miguel (1-1) handled Juan Sengariz and Ben Zipay 6-3.
With the doubles point clinched, Rafael Marques Da Silva and Thando Longwe-Smit finished tied 4-4 against Dylan Heap and Vejko Krstic.
Liberty earns the doubles point for the second consecutive match.

Singles

Chase Robinson (11-2) got the ball rolling in the singles round. The redshirt freshman bested Zipay 6-2, 6-2, earning his seventh consecutive singles match victory.
Thomas-Smith (14-5) rebounded to increase the lead to 3-0 after having his 11-match singles winning streak snapped Friday at VCU. The senior topped Sengariz 6-2, 6-2 in the No. 3 singles match.
Miguel (13-7) clinched the match-winning fourth point on court three with a 6-3. 2-6, 6-3 triumph over Antinheimo.
Elon grabbed its first singles victory on court one. Marques Da Silva (11-7) fell to Krstic 1-6, 6-2, 7-5, dropping his second consecutive singles match.
The Phoenix grabbed another singles point in a back-and-forth bout on court five. Rodrigo Santiago Arraez (11-3) was taken down by Dylan Heap 7-5, 5-7, 1-0 (5).
Elon created a 4-3 final score in the No. 4 singles match. Longwe-Smit (11-9) was defeated by Curtis 5-7, 6-3, 1-0 (6).

Up Next
No. 45 Liberty prepares for a final regular season match, hosting UNCW on Saturday, before setting off for the Conference USA Men's Tennis Championship. The Flames plan to honor their senior class during the match with a first serve set for 1 p.m. at the Liberty Tennis Complex.

Schedule

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Team Stats

Players Mentioned

Romeo Hadzimehmedovic

Thando Longwe-Smit

Rafael Marques Da Silva

Luis Felipe Miguel

Chase Robinson

Matija Samardzic

Rodrigo Santiago Arraez

Deji Thomas-Smith