Thursday, October 9
Blacksburg, Va.
Liberty University
vs
ITA Atlantic Regional
Sparks Stellar in Flames’ Run at ITA Atlantic Regionals
10/14/2025 3:39:00 PM | Men's Tennis
BLACKSBURG, Va. – Liberty redshirt freshman Benjamin Sparks stood out for the Flames at the ITA Regional that concluded action on Monday in Blacksburg, Va. Sparks began singles play on Thursday in the qualifying round before picking up five straight victories to reach the semifinal on Monday.
Liberty collected an overall 16-9 singles record and a 3-4 doubles mark. Sparks led Liberty athletes with a 5-1 record, followed by Rodrigo Santiago Arraez with a 3-1 mark. The pair of Siwanat Auytayakul and David Ekpenyong headlined doubles action with a 2-1 mark.
With his performance, Sparks has qualified for the ITA Sectional Championships (East) in Chapel Hill, N.C., hosted by North Carolina. The tournament runs from Nov. 6-9 and consists of qualified athletes from the Atlantic, Carolina, New England and Northeast ITA regions. The top six finalists will qualify for the NCAA Individual Championships set for Nov. 11-23 in Orlando, Fla.
The qualifying round consists of two matches needed to advance to the main draw. Sparks received a bye in the first round before he bested Howard's Ethan Boswell, 6-2, 6-3. The redshirt freshman fought through two tiebreak sets in the first round against Richmond's Cole Brasher before he ran away with the third set for a 6-7 (3), 7-6 (3), 6-0 triumph. In the second round, Sparks and Virginia Tech's Ilyas Fahim each earned a 6-4 set before entering a third-set tiebreaker. The redshirt freshman sealed a 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (6) victory to advance to the third round.
Sparks breezed past VCU's Alfred Almasi in the third round with a 6-3, 6-2 victory. In the quarterfinal, the redshirt freshman faced Richmond's Davis Wiley, needing to come back after dropping the first set. Sparks forced a tiebreaker that he sealed with an 8-6 score before taking the third set for a 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-3 triumph. Sparks' run came to an end in the semifinal round on Monday. He fell to the event's No. 2 seed, Virginia's Jangjun Kim.
Arraez reached the quarterfinals with a 3-1 singles record but came up short against Kim 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Auytayakul and Ekpenyong reached the quarterfinal of the doubles bracket thanks to a first-round bye as the tournament's No. 3 seed. The pair were taken down by Virginia Tech's Drew Fishback and Victor Kimpel.
Up Next
Liberty prepares for the Norman, Okla. ITF Futures hosted by Oklahoma from Oct. 20-26.
Liberty collected an overall 16-9 singles record and a 3-4 doubles mark. Sparks led Liberty athletes with a 5-1 record, followed by Rodrigo Santiago Arraez with a 3-1 mark. The pair of Siwanat Auytayakul and David Ekpenyong headlined doubles action with a 2-1 mark.
With his performance, Sparks has qualified for the ITA Sectional Championships (East) in Chapel Hill, N.C., hosted by North Carolina. The tournament runs from Nov. 6-9 and consists of qualified athletes from the Atlantic, Carolina, New England and Northeast ITA regions. The top six finalists will qualify for the NCAA Individual Championships set for Nov. 11-23 in Orlando, Fla.
The qualifying round consists of two matches needed to advance to the main draw. Sparks received a bye in the first round before he bested Howard's Ethan Boswell, 6-2, 6-3. The redshirt freshman fought through two tiebreak sets in the first round against Richmond's Cole Brasher before he ran away with the third set for a 6-7 (3), 7-6 (3), 6-0 triumph. In the second round, Sparks and Virginia Tech's Ilyas Fahim each earned a 6-4 set before entering a third-set tiebreaker. The redshirt freshman sealed a 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (6) victory to advance to the third round.
Sparks breezed past VCU's Alfred Almasi in the third round with a 6-3, 6-2 victory. In the quarterfinal, the redshirt freshman faced Richmond's Davis Wiley, needing to come back after dropping the first set. Sparks forced a tiebreaker that he sealed with an 8-6 score before taking the third set for a 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-3 triumph. Sparks' run came to an end in the semifinal round on Monday. He fell to the event's No. 2 seed, Virginia's Jangjun Kim.
Arraez reached the quarterfinals with a 3-1 singles record but came up short against Kim 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Auytayakul and Ekpenyong reached the quarterfinal of the doubles bracket thanks to a first-round bye as the tournament's No. 3 seed. The pair were taken down by Virginia Tech's Drew Fishback and Victor Kimpel.
Up Next
Liberty prepares for the Norman, Okla. ITF Futures hosted by Oklahoma from Oct. 20-26.
Team Stats
# Doubles Match
# Singles Match
Players Mentioned
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