Thursday, April 9
Richmond, Va.
2:00 PM ET
Liberty University
6
at
1
VCU
No. 60 Liberty Closes Regular Season with Wins over VCU, UNCW
4/11/2026 7:39:00 PM | Men's Tennis
LYNCHBURG, Va. – No. 60 Liberty (13-9) achieved a 2-0 week with 6-1 victory at VCU (6-12) on Thursday before narrowly defeating UNCW (10-10) 4-3 on Saturday at home.
The Flames secured wins in five of the six singles matches against VCU and clinched the doubles point by triumphing in two of three doubles matches. Liberty split singles matches against UNCW with the doubles point, proving to be the difference.
Liberty enters the 2026 Conference USA Men's Tennis Championship (April 17-19) with a four-match winning streak.
Thoughts from Head Coach Derek Scwandt after UNCW
"Strong doubles. The team's sticking together well. Unity, unity is our theme. We are going to celebrate today, celebrate the seniors, then keep an attacking attitude going into the conference tournament."
On Senior Day (Carl Roothman, Ernst Gouws)
"They both bring a lot of camaraderie and team spirit. They're both team players, they love representing Liberty, playing for each other, it's been an honor to coach them."
No. 60 Liberty 6, VCU 1
Liberty secured the doubles point with victories on two courts. Siwanat Auytayakul and Chase Robinson triumphed at No. 3 doubles with a 6-2 win over Patrik Petera and Leon Zaorski. Rodrigo Santiago Arraez and Guy Vorwerk followed, clinching the doubles point with a 6-4 victory at No. 2 doubles, defeating Alfred Almasi and Nicolo Consonni.
In singles play, Sparks put the Flames ahead further with a 7-6 (4), 6-3 win over Mats Bredschneijder at No. 2 singles. Ekpenyong extended the lead, defeating Almasi, 7-6 (6), 7-5 on court five. Robinson clinched the match with a 4-0 score at No. 6 singles, overcoming Zaorski 6-3, 7-6 (1). VCU's Bouchet claimed a point for his team at No. 1 singles, defeating Auytayakul in a three-set match, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.
Arraez added another point for the Flames with a come-from-behind victory at No. 3 singles, winning 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 against Mnatsakanyan. Roothman closed out the match for Liberty at No. 4 singles with a 1-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5 victory over Consonni.
Singles Competition
1. Erwann Bouchet (VCU) def. Siwanat Auytayakul (LIBERTYM) 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
2. Benjamin Sparks (LIBERTYM) def. Mats Bredschneijder (VCU) 7-6 (7-4), 6-3
3. R Santiago Arraez (LIBERTYM) def. Gevorg Mnatsakanyan (VCU) 5-7, 6-1, 6-4
4. Carl Roothman (LIBERTYM) def. Nicolo Consonni (VCU) 1-6, 7-6 (7-3), 7-5
5. David Ekpenyong (LIBERTYM) def. Alfred Almasi (VCU) 7-6 (8-6), 7-5
6. Chase Robinson (LIBERTYM) def. Leon Zaorski (VCU) 6-3, 7-6 (7-1)
Doubles Competition
1. Erwann Bouchet/Gevorg Mnatsakanyan (VCU) def. David Ekpenyong/Benjamin Sparks (LIBERTYM) 6-3
2. R Santiago Arraez/Guy Vorwerk (LIBERTYM) def. Alfred Almasi/Nicolo Consonni (VCU) 6-4
3. Siwanat Auytayakul/Chase Robinson (LIBERTYM) def. Patrick Petera/Leon Zaorski (VCU) 6-2
Liberty 12-9; National ranking #60
VCU 6-12
Order of Finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (2,5,1,6,3,4)
No. 60 Liberty 4, UNCW 3
In the match against UNCW, Liberty secured the crucial doubles point with wins on courts one and three. Sparks and Ekpenyong delivered a 6-1 win over Alex DeGabriele and Brady Hussey at No. 1 doubles. On court three, Robinson and Auytayakul clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 victory against Jordi Domenech and Tomas Marin.
In singles action, Arraez extended Liberty's lead by defeating Oscar Baumgartner, 6-0, 6-2, at No. 3 singles, and Roothman followed with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Domenech at No. 4 singles, making the score 3-0. UNCW responded as Hussey defeated Robinson 6-4, 6-2 at No. 6 singles, narrowing the margin to 3-1. The Seahawks applied more pressure, picking up two more points to even the match at 3-3. UNCW earned victories from Steffan, who defeated Auytayakul 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 at No. 1 singles, and DeGabriele, who edged past Sparks 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 at No. 2 singles, resulting in a final dual score of 4-3 in favor of Liberty.
Liberty clinched the match with Ekpenyong's three-set victory at No. 5 singles, overcoming Marin 6-7, 6-4, 6-3, giving Liberty its decisive fourth point.
Singles Competition
1. Lukas Steffan (UNCW) def. Siwanat Auytayakul (LIBERTYM) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
2. Alex de Gabriele (UNCW) def. Benjamin Sparks (LIBERTYM) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
3. R Santiago Arraez (LIBERTYM) def. Oscar Baumgartner (UNCW) 6-0, 6-2
4. Carl Roothman (LIBERTYM) def. Jordi Domenech (UNCW) 6-3, 6-4
5. David Ekpenyong (LIBERTYM) def. Tomas Marin (UNCW) 6-7, 6-4, 6-3
6. Brady Hussey (UNCW) def. Chase Robinson (LIBERTYM) 6-4, 6-2
Doubles Competition
1. Benjamin Sparks/David Ekpenyong (LIBERTYM) def. Alex de Gabriele/Brady Hussey (UNCW) 6-1
2. Lukas Steffan/Wiliam Dean (UNCW) def. R Santiago Arraez/Guy Vorwerk (LIBERTYM) 6-3
3. Chase Robinson/Siwanat Auytayakul (LIBERTYM) def. Jordi Domenech/Tomas Marin (UNCW) 6-4
UNCW 10-10
Liberty 13-9; National ranking #60
Order of Finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (3,4,6,2,1,5)
Flames News & Notes
Up Next
Liberty awaits the results of the 2026 Conference USA Men's Tennis Championship bracket, set to be released on Monday.
The Flames secured wins in five of the six singles matches against VCU and clinched the doubles point by triumphing in two of three doubles matches. Liberty split singles matches against UNCW with the doubles point, proving to be the difference.
Liberty enters the 2026 Conference USA Men's Tennis Championship (April 17-19) with a four-match winning streak.
Thoughts from Head Coach Derek Scwandt after UNCW
"Strong doubles. The team's sticking together well. Unity, unity is our theme. We are going to celebrate today, celebrate the seniors, then keep an attacking attitude going into the conference tournament."
On Senior Day (Carl Roothman, Ernst Gouws)
"They both bring a lot of camaraderie and team spirit. They're both team players, they love representing Liberty, playing for each other, it's been an honor to coach them."
No. 60 Liberty 6, VCU 1
Liberty secured the doubles point with victories on two courts. Siwanat Auytayakul and Chase Robinson triumphed at No. 3 doubles with a 6-2 win over Patrik Petera and Leon Zaorski. Rodrigo Santiago Arraez and Guy Vorwerk followed, clinching the doubles point with a 6-4 victory at No. 2 doubles, defeating Alfred Almasi and Nicolo Consonni.
In singles play, Sparks put the Flames ahead further with a 7-6 (4), 6-3 win over Mats Bredschneijder at No. 2 singles. Ekpenyong extended the lead, defeating Almasi, 7-6 (6), 7-5 on court five. Robinson clinched the match with a 4-0 score at No. 6 singles, overcoming Zaorski 6-3, 7-6 (1). VCU's Bouchet claimed a point for his team at No. 1 singles, defeating Auytayakul in a three-set match, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.
Arraez added another point for the Flames with a come-from-behind victory at No. 3 singles, winning 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 against Mnatsakanyan. Roothman closed out the match for Liberty at No. 4 singles with a 1-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5 victory over Consonni.
Singles Competition
1. Erwann Bouchet (VCU) def. Siwanat Auytayakul (LIBERTYM) 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
2. Benjamin Sparks (LIBERTYM) def. Mats Bredschneijder (VCU) 7-6 (7-4), 6-3
3. R Santiago Arraez (LIBERTYM) def. Gevorg Mnatsakanyan (VCU) 5-7, 6-1, 6-4
4. Carl Roothman (LIBERTYM) def. Nicolo Consonni (VCU) 1-6, 7-6 (7-3), 7-5
5. David Ekpenyong (LIBERTYM) def. Alfred Almasi (VCU) 7-6 (8-6), 7-5
6. Chase Robinson (LIBERTYM) def. Leon Zaorski (VCU) 6-3, 7-6 (7-1)
Doubles Competition
1. Erwann Bouchet/Gevorg Mnatsakanyan (VCU) def. David Ekpenyong/Benjamin Sparks (LIBERTYM) 6-3
2. R Santiago Arraez/Guy Vorwerk (LIBERTYM) def. Alfred Almasi/Nicolo Consonni (VCU) 6-4
3. Siwanat Auytayakul/Chase Robinson (LIBERTYM) def. Patrick Petera/Leon Zaorski (VCU) 6-2
Liberty 12-9; National ranking #60
VCU 6-12
Order of Finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (2,5,1,6,3,4)
No. 60 Liberty 4, UNCW 3
In the match against UNCW, Liberty secured the crucial doubles point with wins on courts one and three. Sparks and Ekpenyong delivered a 6-1 win over Alex DeGabriele and Brady Hussey at No. 1 doubles. On court three, Robinson and Auytayakul clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 victory against Jordi Domenech and Tomas Marin.
In singles action, Arraez extended Liberty's lead by defeating Oscar Baumgartner, 6-0, 6-2, at No. 3 singles, and Roothman followed with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Domenech at No. 4 singles, making the score 3-0. UNCW responded as Hussey defeated Robinson 6-4, 6-2 at No. 6 singles, narrowing the margin to 3-1. The Seahawks applied more pressure, picking up two more points to even the match at 3-3. UNCW earned victories from Steffan, who defeated Auytayakul 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 at No. 1 singles, and DeGabriele, who edged past Sparks 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 at No. 2 singles, resulting in a final dual score of 4-3 in favor of Liberty.
Liberty clinched the match with Ekpenyong's three-set victory at No. 5 singles, overcoming Marin 6-7, 6-4, 6-3, giving Liberty its decisive fourth point.
Singles Competition
1. Lukas Steffan (UNCW) def. Siwanat Auytayakul (LIBERTYM) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
2. Alex de Gabriele (UNCW) def. Benjamin Sparks (LIBERTYM) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
3. R Santiago Arraez (LIBERTYM) def. Oscar Baumgartner (UNCW) 6-0, 6-2
4. Carl Roothman (LIBERTYM) def. Jordi Domenech (UNCW) 6-3, 6-4
5. David Ekpenyong (LIBERTYM) def. Tomas Marin (UNCW) 6-7, 6-4, 6-3
6. Brady Hussey (UNCW) def. Chase Robinson (LIBERTYM) 6-4, 6-2
Doubles Competition
1. Benjamin Sparks/David Ekpenyong (LIBERTYM) def. Alex de Gabriele/Brady Hussey (UNCW) 6-1
2. Lukas Steffan/Wiliam Dean (UNCW) def. R Santiago Arraez/Guy Vorwerk (LIBERTYM) 6-3
3. Chase Robinson/Siwanat Auytayakul (LIBERTYM) def. Jordi Domenech/Tomas Marin (UNCW) 6-4
UNCW 10-10
Liberty 13-9; National ranking #60
Order of Finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (3,4,6,2,1,5)
Flames News & Notes
- Liberty finishes the regular season 67-57 (.540) collectively in singles and 33-21 (.611) overall in doubles.
- Roothman (10-10) extended his singles winning streak to four matches with two triumphs.
- Arraez, Ekpenyong and Roothman all earned 2-0 singles marks.
- Ekpenyong clinched a match that was tied at 3-3 for the third time this season.
- Robinson finishes the regular season with a team-best 11-9 singles record.
- Sparks and Ekpenyong (10-6) improved to 5-4 in the No. 1 doubles position.
- Arraez and Vorwerk (12-4) finish the regular season as the team's winningest doubles pair.
Up Next
Liberty awaits the results of the 2026 Conference USA Men's Tennis Championship bracket, set to be released on Monday.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1,2
#1 Singles Match
123
621
Erwann Bouchet / 0 [VCU]
466
#2 Singles Match
12
76
Mats Bredschneijder / 0 [VCU]
63
#3 Singles Match
123
566
Gevorg Mnatsakanyan / 0 [VCU]
714
#4 Singles Match
123
177
Nicolo Consonni / 0 [VCU]
665
#5 Singles Match
12
77
Alfred Almasi / 0 [VCU]
65
#6 Singles Match
12
67
Leon Zaorski / 0 [VCU]
36
Order of Finish:
2,5,1,6,3,4
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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