Thursday, April 9
Richmond, Va.
2:00 PM ET
Liberty University
at
VCU
No. 60 Men’s Tennis Wraps Regular Season at VCU, Hosts UNCW
4/8/2026 4:14:00 PM | Men's Tennis
LYNCHBURG, Va. – The No. 60 Liberty men's tennis team (11-9) will conclude the 2026 regular season with a road match at VCU (6-11) on Thursday at 2 p.m. and hosting UNCW on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Liberty will recognize two athletes on Saturday, Carl Roothman (2024-26) and Ernst Gouws (2022-26), who will be leaving the program at the end of the season. The Flames will hold a senior day ceremony recognizing the individuals for their time at Liberty.
The Flames are coming off a 2-0 week in Lynchburg with decisive victories over No. 56 Old Dominion (4-2) and Elon (5-2). Siwanat Auytayakul (2-0 at No. 1 singles) was named the Conference USA Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week, while David Ekpenyong and Benjamin Sparks (2-0 at No. 1 doubles) were named the CUSA Men's Tennis Doubles Pair of the Week.
Liberty is seeking just its second victory in a 1-7 all-time series against VCU. The Flames picked up their first-ever triumph over the Rams with a 7-0 victory at home last season. Liberty looks to avenge a 5-2 loss last season to UNCW and improve on a 1-9 all-time series.
The Flames have taken on 11 programs that carry a current ITA national ranking. With the most recent ITA rankings (March 31), they have met No. 19 Auburn, No. 27 Arizona State, No. 32 UC Santa Barbara, No. 37 Princeton, No. 38 Yale, No. 39 Penn, No. 52 Georgia Tech, No. 54 Charlotte, No. 53 Oregon and No. 62 USF.
Flames News & Notes
Liberty will recognize two athletes on Saturday, Carl Roothman (2024-26) and Ernst Gouws (2022-26), who will be leaving the program at the end of the season. The Flames will hold a senior day ceremony recognizing the individuals for their time at Liberty.
The Flames are coming off a 2-0 week in Lynchburg with decisive victories over No. 56 Old Dominion (4-2) and Elon (5-2). Siwanat Auytayakul (2-0 at No. 1 singles) was named the Conference USA Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week, while David Ekpenyong and Benjamin Sparks (2-0 at No. 1 doubles) were named the CUSA Men's Tennis Doubles Pair of the Week.
Liberty is seeking just its second victory in a 1-7 all-time series against VCU. The Flames picked up their first-ever triumph over the Rams with a 7-0 victory at home last season. Liberty looks to avenge a 5-2 loss last season to UNCW and improve on a 1-9 all-time series.
The Flames have taken on 11 programs that carry a current ITA national ranking. With the most recent ITA rankings (March 31), they have met No. 19 Auburn, No. 27 Arizona State, No. 32 UC Santa Barbara, No. 37 Princeton, No. 38 Yale, No. 39 Penn, No. 52 Georgia Tech, No. 54 Charlotte, No. 53 Oregon and No. 62 USF.
Flames News & Notes
- Liberty is collectively 59-53 (.527) in singles and 29-19 (.604) overall in doubles.
- Sparks and Ekpenyong (9-5) sport a 4-3 mark, leading the Flames in the No. 1 doubles position.
- Rodrigo Santiago Arraez and Guy Vorwerk own a team-leading 11-3 doubles mark.
- Auytayakul has made his last four appearances and eight of his last 12 in the No. 1 singles slot.
- Liberty has its most success in the No. 2 singles slot (11-7, .611), led by Carl Roothman with a 5-3 mark.
- Chase Robinson paces the team with a 12-5 mark with an 8-1 record in the No. 6 singles slot.
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
Coach Schwandt & Benjamin Sparks Talk About The Win Over Elon
Saturday, April 04
Coach Connell Talks About The Win Over Delaware
Saturday, January 24
Chase Robinson Talks About The Start Of The Men's Tennis Season
Wednesday, January 14
Daniella O'Neill Garcia Talks About The Start Of The Women's Tennis Season
Tuesday, January 13