Marques Da Silva Added to Men’s Tennis Staff as an Assistant Coach
8/20/2025 4:00:00 PM | Men's Tennis
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Liberty men's tennis and head coach Derek Schwandt have announced the return of former Flame, Rafael Marques da Silva, to the coaching staff as an assistant coach for the 2025-26 season. He comes back to Lynchburg after having served a year coaching at the John McEnroe Academy in New York.
Marques da Silva spent five years at Liberty as a player from 2020-24. He holds the program record for most spring career wins in program history with 59 total triumphs. He is one of three players to have held an ITA individual national ranking for the program, having placed as high as No. 99 in the country. He ranks third in program history with 83 all-time singles and fifth in all-time doubles triumphs with 70.
The Sao Paulo, Brazil native was a key contributor in Liberty's back-to-back ASUN Championship titles in 2021 and 2022. He was named the Championship MVP for the Flames' first title. During his five spring seasons with the program, Marques da Silva played in the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 slots in the lineup, highlighted by his 40-28 record in the top half of the lineup.
Marques da Silva accumulated multiple conference honors in his time at Liberty, highlighted by being named as part of the 2022 ASUN Doubles Pair of the Year with Nicaise Muamba. He was a two-time singles first team (2021, 23), a two-time singles second team (2022, 24), a doubles first team (2024) and was an all-freshman team (2021) honoree.
In his final spring season in 2024, Marques Da Silva starred in the No. 1 position in both singles and doubles for the Flames. He earned an 11-9 singles record in the No. 1 singles position and a 10-8 record in doubles.
Schwandt adds to his track record of hiring recently graduated former athletes, both from Liberty and outside, to his coaching staff Liberty has hired Beck Pennington (Kentucky, 2017-19), Trevor Foshey (Mississippi State 2019-23), Kyle Seelig (Ohio State, 2023-25), Christiaan Worst (Liberty, 2023-24).
Marques da Silva looks to help improve a Flames team that collected an 11-13 overall record and finished as runners-up in the 2025 CUSA Men's Tennis Championship. Liberty begins its fall season at the ITA All-American Championships (Sept. 20-28). The Flames return to host the Liberty Dual from Sept. 27-29 at the Liberty Tennis Complex.
Marques da Silva spent five years at Liberty as a player from 2020-24. He holds the program record for most spring career wins in program history with 59 total triumphs. He is one of three players to have held an ITA individual national ranking for the program, having placed as high as No. 99 in the country. He ranks third in program history with 83 all-time singles and fifth in all-time doubles triumphs with 70.
The Sao Paulo, Brazil native was a key contributor in Liberty's back-to-back ASUN Championship titles in 2021 and 2022. He was named the Championship MVP for the Flames' first title. During his five spring seasons with the program, Marques da Silva played in the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 slots in the lineup, highlighted by his 40-28 record in the top half of the lineup.
Marques da Silva accumulated multiple conference honors in his time at Liberty, highlighted by being named as part of the 2022 ASUN Doubles Pair of the Year with Nicaise Muamba. He was a two-time singles first team (2021, 23), a two-time singles second team (2022, 24), a doubles first team (2024) and was an all-freshman team (2021) honoree.
In his final spring season in 2024, Marques Da Silva starred in the No. 1 position in both singles and doubles for the Flames. He earned an 11-9 singles record in the No. 1 singles position and a 10-8 record in doubles.
Schwandt adds to his track record of hiring recently graduated former athletes, both from Liberty and outside, to his coaching staff Liberty has hired Beck Pennington (Kentucky, 2017-19), Trevor Foshey (Mississippi State 2019-23), Kyle Seelig (Ohio State, 2023-25), Christiaan Worst (Liberty, 2023-24).
Marques da Silva looks to help improve a Flames team that collected an 11-13 overall record and finished as runners-up in the 2025 CUSA Men's Tennis Championship. Liberty begins its fall season at the ITA All-American Championships (Sept. 20-28). The Flames return to host the Liberty Dual from Sept. 27-29 at the Liberty Tennis Complex.
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