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2023-24 Women's Tennis Roster
Esther Lovato
- Class:
- Senior
- Prev School:
- John B. Connally HS
- Height:
- 5-4
- Hometown:
- Austin, Texas
2022-23 (Jr.)
• Selected to ASUN All-Conference second team, third All-Conference mention (2022- first team, 2021- second team)
• Named to VaSID All-State singles second team for a fourth straight season, became the only player in program history to be selected to the all-state team four times
• Became Liberty leader in all-time singles wins with 96 victories, surpassing Evangeline Crist (92)
• Honored as ITA Scholar-Athlete for the fourth straight year
• Included on CSC Academic All-District Women’s Tennis Team
• Received ASUN Academic Honor Roll recognition for the fourth straight year
• Led team with 28 total singles wins (18 in the fall), the second most wins in a single season in program history
• Ended the year with a program-best .850 career singles winning percentage with a 96-17 record
• Across the fall, went 18-4 in singles (second on team) and 4-3 in doubles
• Over spring season, compiled an 18-4 singles record (led team) and 13-7 doubles record (tied for team lead) including an 8-0 ASUN record with partner Marina Davtyan
• Went on 11-match singles win-streak from Nov. 12 to Feb. 25
• Finished spring season with a 13-2 doubles record across 15 matches with partner Marina Davtyan
• Played across three singles positions, 7-3 from No. 2, 8-1 from No. 3, 3-0 from No. 4
• Played in two doubles positions, 0-3 from No. 2, 13-4 from No. 3
2021-22 (So.)
• Selected to ASUN All-Conference first team
• Named to VaSID All-State singles second team for a third straight season, became the only player in program history to be selected to the all-state team three times
• Honored as ITA Scholar Athlete for third straight year
• Named to ASUN All-Academic team
• Garnered inclusion on ASUN Academic Honor Roll for a third consecutive season
• Finished second on the team with 27 singles victories on the year (18 fall, nine spring), the third most wins in a season in program history
• Posted an 18-4 spring singles mark and a perfect 15-0 record in the No. 4 slot
• Won 15 consecutive singles matches from Feb. 12-April 14, 14 of which came in straight sets
• Enters her fourth year at Liberty ranked second in school history in career singles winning percentage (.850, 68-12 record) and fourth in career singles wins (68)
• Claimed eight total doubles matches on the year, five in the fall and three in the spring
• Won three doubles contests in the fall with Maretha Burger as her partner
• Picked up three No. 3 doubles victories during the spring, two with Kalani Soli and one with Marina Davtyan
Spring 2021 (Fr.)
• Selected to ASUN All-Conference second team
• Named to VaSID All-State singles second team
• Honored as ITA Scholar Athlete
• Garnered inclusion on ASUN Academic Honor Roll
• Earned No. 123 singles national ranking on March 24, the first of her career
• Finished year ranked No. 16 in ITA Atlantic Region singles rankings
• Led the team with 23 singles victories on the year and lost only one match (23-1 record)
• Established a new program record with a .958 singles winning percentage (23-1)
• Won her first 19 singles matches of the season, 18 of which were in straight sets
• Posted a 9-3 doubles mark during spring campaign and 2-1 ASUN record
• Went 4-0 at No. 3 doubles with Marina Davtyan as her partner and 5-3 with Grace Hashiguchi (1-0 No. 2, 4-3 No. 3)
*Note: Liberty did not compete in a fall 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2019-20 (Fr.)
• Selected to VaSID All-State singles second team
• Earned ASUN Player of the Week honors, Feb. 26
• Honored as ITA Scholar Athlete
• Garnered inclusion on ASUN Academic Honor Roll
• Led the team with 18 singles victories on the year, nine in the spring and nine in the fall
• Posted 9-2 singles record in spring and 9-3 mark in fall
• Went 5-2 at No. 4 singles, 3-0 at No. 3 singles and 1-0 at No. 1 singles in spring dual matches
• Won D singles draw title at Cal State Northridge Fall Invitational (Nov. 10), going 4-0 to capture the crown
• Clinched Liberty’s spring-opening 6-1 win over Miami (Ohio) with a 6-1, 6-4 decision over Milana Lysova, Jan. 17 in Fort Myers, Fla.
• Assumed No. 1 slot in lineup and gave the Lady Flames match-clinching fourth point with a two-set win (6-1, 6-0) over Alexa Quintanilla of Mount St. Mary’s in an eventual 7-0 win, Feb. 29 at home
• Closed spring season on a five-match winning streak, with all five triumphs coming in straight sets
• Held a seven-match winning streak in singles that started at the end of the fall and spanned the beginning of the spring campaign (Nov. 8-Jan. 25)
• Totaled five doubles wins on the season, four in the fall and one in the spring
• Went 4-1 with partner Grace Hashiguchi in fall competition and won a No. 3 doubles match with Eloise Saraty in the spring
*Note: Remainder of the season was cancelled on March 13, 2020 due to health concerns related to the COVID-19 virus
Prep
• Graduate of John B. Connally High School
• Five-star recruit by TennisRecruiting.net
• Ranked as high as No. 57 in the country
• Qualified to play in the highest level national and international tournaments such as Easter Bowl, Winter Nationals and Hard Court Nationals
Personal
• Daughter of Lawrence and Bridget Lovato
• Received bachelor’s degree in May 2022
• Pursuing master’s in executive leadership
• Birthday is May 6
