Liberty University
ITA All-American Championships
Wilson and Worst Defeat No. 10-Ranked Doubles Team, Move On to Round of 16
10/5/2022 8:49:46 PM | Men's Tennis
Josh Wilson and Christiaan Worst of the Liberty men’s tennis team continued their unprecedented run at the ITA Men’s All-American Championships, defeating the No. 10-ranked doubles team in the country on Tuesday evening in their first main draw match.
Wilson and Worst squared off with Portland’s No. 10 Sema Pankin and Eleftherios Neos in the round of 32 and prevailed 7-6 (4), 6-2 at Tulsa’s Michael D. Case Tennis Center. The Liberty duo is the first in school history to compete in the doubles main draw at the prestigious event.
Wilson and Worst will face TCU’s Luc Fomba and Pedro Vives Marcos in the round of 16, Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. Eastern. They are one of only 16 doubles teams left in the main draw in a tournament which features the best players in the country.
Thoughts From Head Coach Derek Schwandt
“Christiaan and Josh had some of the best self talk I’ve seen. It’s easy to get disappointed when things don’t go your way. It takes intentionality and character to respond over and over from start to finish no matter what’s happening.”
Key Stats & Notes
• Wilson and Worst have two ranked doubles wins this week. The duo also bested No. 40 Phillip Jordan and Kai Brady of UC Santa Barbara in qualifying (4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-6), Monday.
• The Liberty pairing is 4-0 at the event, including a 1-0 mark in the main draw and 3-0 record in qualifying.
• The duo has a 6-1 record this fall and 14-2 mark since joining forces halfway through the spring 2022 campaign.
• Through five days of competition at ITA All-Americans, Liberty sports a 5-1 doubles record and 4-4 singles mark between four players. The Flames are finished competing in singles yesterday, with each player posting a 1-1 record. Liberty’s Rafael Marques Da Silva and Beau Pelletier finished 1-1 in doubles.
Up Next
Wilson and Worst will square off with TCU’s Luke Fomba and Pedro Vives Marcos in the doubles main draw round of 16, beginning tomorrow at 4:30 p.m.
While the Horned Frogs’ duo is not nationally ranked, TCU’s Fomba and his other doubles partner, Jacob Fearnley, are the No. 1-ranked doubles team in the nation.
Cracked Racquets is set to provide a CrossCourt Cast during the main draw. Offering an elevated experience from the traditional live-stream broadcast, this CrossCourt Cast will offer viewers a unique experience to keep up with all of the best matches on the court at both the ITA Men’s and Women’s All-American Championships, while hearing expert commentary from Mark Bey and Alex Gruskin.
Tournament Website: https://bit.ly/3B34wEo
Live Video Stream: https://bit.ly/3CbPldx
Remaining Schedule
Thursday Through Sunday – Main Draw
