No. 3 Seed Flames Conclude Run at NIT Championships

BRADENTON, Fla. – The No. 3 seed Liberty men's tennis team saw their 2024 season come to a close in a 4-0 defeat on Tuesday to No. 2 seed Pacific at the 2024 UTR Sports NIT Championship. The postseason event was held at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.

The No. 3 seed Flames (18-9) fall to the No. 2 seed Tigers (19-5) 4-0 in the semifinal round of the NIT Championships to wrap up their 2024 season.

Pacific secured the doubles round despite needing a tiebreak on court one. Liberty sealed a triumph in the No. 3 doubles match with Rodrigo Santiago Arraez making his first-ever doubles appearance, winning 6-3 with Matija Samardzic.

The Tigers continued rolling in the singles round, grabbing a swift victory in the No. 6 singles match. Pacific clinched the match as courts three and four finished within moments of one another.

Liberty dropped its first-ever match at the NIT Championship, falling to 4-1 all-time at the event. The Flames won the 2023 NIT Championship title last season.

#60 Pacific Tigers 4, #56 Liberty 0

Singles Competition
1. Trainauskas,Justas (PACIFIC) vs. R Marques Da Silva (LIBERTYM) 4-6, 6-3, 0-2, unfinished
2. Silva,Tiago (PACIFIC) vs. Deji Thomas-Smith (LIBERTYM) 4-6, 6-0, 4-2, unfinished
3. Das,Terence (PACIFIC) def. Thando Longwe-Smit (LIBERTYM) 6-4, 6-3
4. Amar,Ran (PACIFIC) def. R Santiago Arraez (LIBERTYM) 6-3, 6-3
5. Rodeia,Andre (PACIFIC) vs. Chase Robinson (LIBERTYM) 6-7 (3-0), 1-1, unfinished
6. Czaplinski,Tommy (PACIFIC) def. Matija Samardzic (LIBERTYM) 6-2, 7-5

Doubles Competition
1. Trainauskas,Justas/Amar,Ran (PACIFIC) def. R Marques Da Silva/Thando Longwe-Smit (LIBERTYM) 7-6 (7-5)
2. Czaplinski,Tommy/Silva,Tiago (PACIFIC) def. Deji Thomas-Smith/Chase Robinson (LIBERTYM) 6-3
3. Schaertlin Coffey, C/Rodeia,Andre (PACIFIC) def. R Santiago Arraez/Matija Samardzic (LIBERTYM) 6-3

Liberty 18-9; National ranking #56
Pacific Tigers 19-5; National ranking #60
Order of Finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (6,3,4)
2024 UTR Sports NIT Championship

Flames News & Notes

Three seniors played in their final matches for Liberty.
Deji Thomas-Smith (18-5) finishes his Liberty career with an 87-59 singles record, the second-most singles wins in program history. The senior as finishes with a 67-58 doubles record.
Rafael Marques Da Silva (11-9) wraps up his Flames tenure with an 83-47 mark, the third most in program history. The senior concludes his career with a 70-41 doubles mark.
Thando Longwe-Smit (13-12) ends his Liberty career with a 63-40 singles and a 43-41 doubles mark.

Schedule

No. 3 Seed Flames Conclude Run at NIT Championships

Team Stats

Players Mentioned

Thando Longwe-Smit

Rafael Marques Da Silva

Chase Robinson

Matija Samardzic

Rodrigo Santiago Arraez

Deji Thomas-Smith