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Saturday, September 19
Tulsa, Okla.
Liberty University
vs
ITA All-American Championships
Veliz Makes Davis Cup Debut, Three Flames Finish at ITA All-Americans
9/20/2026 4:12:00 PM | Men's Tennis
TULSA, Okla. – Three Flames, Rodrigo Santiago Arraez, Siwanat Auytayakul and Benjamin Sparks each went 1-1 at the ITA All-American Championships this weekend in Tulsa, Okla. Across the world, Angel Veliz made his Davis Cup debut, representing the Flames competing for Ecuador against Great Britain.
Arraez won his first match, topping Santa Clara's Valentin Laure 6-3, 6-4. The next day, the senior fell to the pre-qualifying bracket's No. 3 seed, UNLV's Marko Makimovic, 6-3, 6-4. Auytayakul and Sparks each got their wins in the consolation portion of the bracket. Auytayakul bested Northwestern's Cyrus Mahjoob 7-5, 6-3. Sparks ousted Washington's Stephane Kamdendje 6-3, 6-3.
As one of the youngest players at the international event, the 18-year-old Veliz made his Davis Cup debut. Playing against host Great Britain, the Freshman was matched up against No. 175 Harry Wendelken. Veliz battled but ultimately fell 6-2, 6-3. Veliz showed off a strong service game, making 57 percent of his first serves (41-of-72) and 77 percent of his second serves (24-of-31) with one ace.
Up Next
All four Flames return as the team prepares to host its only event of the fall season. Liberty welcomes seven teams to the Liberty Tennis Complex for the three-day Liberty Dual beginning on Friday. The schedule for the event will be announced later this week.
Arraez won his first match, topping Santa Clara's Valentin Laure 6-3, 6-4. The next day, the senior fell to the pre-qualifying bracket's No. 3 seed, UNLV's Marko Makimovic, 6-3, 6-4. Auytayakul and Sparks each got their wins in the consolation portion of the bracket. Auytayakul bested Northwestern's Cyrus Mahjoob 7-5, 6-3. Sparks ousted Washington's Stephane Kamdendje 6-3, 6-3.
As one of the youngest players at the international event, the 18-year-old Veliz made his Davis Cup debut. Playing against host Great Britain, the Freshman was matched up against No. 175 Harry Wendelken. Veliz battled but ultimately fell 6-2, 6-3. Veliz showed off a strong service game, making 57 percent of his first serves (41-of-72) and 77 percent of his second serves (24-of-31) with one ace.
Up Next
All four Flames return as the team prepares to host its only event of the fall season. Liberty welcomes seven teams to the Liberty Tennis Complex for the three-day Liberty Dual beginning on Friday. The schedule for the event will be announced later this week.
Players Mentioned
Team Stats
# Singles Match
Wednesday, April 15
Thursday, April 09
Saturday, April 04
Saturday, January 24