Liberty University
FGCU
No. 63 Flames Close Regular Season, Fall to FGCU 4-3 on Road
4/8/2023 9:24:52 PM | Men's Tennis
With the No. 1 seed in the ASUN Men’s Tennis Championship on the line, the Liberty Flames dropped a tough match to FGCU by a 4-3 on Saturday night at the FGCU Tennis Complex.
The Flames end the regular season with a 13-9 overall record and a 7-1 conference record. FGCU (12-8) earns the No. 1 seed for the upcoming ASUN Tournament.
Liberty lost the doubles point after getting a 6-2 win on court one. The two teams traded points, tying multiple times. The match came down to a third set on court three, as the Eagles came out on top with the 4-3 win.
The Flames fall to 2-4 all-time versus the Eagles. Liberty finishes the regular season with a 5-4 road record.
FGCU 4, #63 Liberty 3
Singles Competition
1. JOHNSON, Magnus (FGCU) def. Josh Wilson (LIBERTYM) 6-0, 6-2
2. R. Marques Da Silva (LIBERTYM) def. WILSON, Randy (FGCU) 6-1, 6-0
3. SEPULVEDA, Marcelo (FGCU) def. Christiaan Worst (LIBERTYM) 3-6, 7-5, 6-3
4. Deji Thomas-Smith (LIBERTYM) def. STEFANACCI,Guglielmo (FGCU) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
5. Beau Pelletier (LIBERTYM) def. LOPEZ, Juan (FGCU) 6-3, 6-4
6. ONCINS, Eric (FGCU) def. Luis Felipe Miguel (LIBERTYM) 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (13-11)
Doubles Competition
1. Christiaan Worst/Josh Wilson (LIBERTYM) def. JOHNSON, Magnus/WILSON, Randy (FGCU) 6-2
2. STEFANACCI,Guglielmo/SEPULVEDA, Marcelo (FGCU) def. Luis Felipe Miguel/Deji Thomas-Smith (LIBERTYM) 6-4
3. ONCINS, Eric/BRADFORD, Carter (FGCU) def. R. Marques Da Silva/Beau Pelletier (LIBERTYM) 6-3
Liberty 13-9, 7-1; National ranking #63FGCU 12-8, 7-1
Order of Finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (2,1,5,4,6,3)
How It Happened
• Liberty’s senior pair of Josh Wilson and Christiaan Worst (9-8) snagged a 6-2 victory in the No. 1 doubles match over Magnus Johnson and Randy Wilson.
• FGCU took the crucial doubles point with consecutive wins on courts three and two. Rafael Marques Da Silva and Beau Pelletier (6-3) dropped their match to Carter Bradford and Eric Oncins 6-3. With the doubles point on the line, Deji Thomas-Smith and Luis Felipe Miguel (12-5) fell to Guglielmo Stefanacci and Marcelo Sepuvelda 6-4. Thomas-Smith and Miguel’s loss was only their second in the last 11 matches.
• Marques Da Silva (8-6) tied the match at 1-1 after he rolled over Wilson 6-1, 6-0 in the No. 2 singles match.
• FGCU regained a 2-1 lead after the Eagles’ Johnson bested Liberty’s Wilson (10-9) on court one, 6-0, 6-2.
• Liberty tied the match right back in the No. 5 singles match thanks to Pelletier (11-6) topping Juan Lopez 6-3, 6-4.
• Thomas-Smith (8-6) gave the Flames a 3-2 advantage after he came back to beat Stefanacci 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
• FGCU tied the match once more at 3-3 after a tight matchup between Miguel (14-6) and Oncins. Though the match only went two sets, both were won with intense tiebreakers although favoring the Eagles. The final score on court six was 7-6 (5), 7-6 (11).
• The final match of the day came down to the No. 3 singles match between Worst (11-8) and Marcelo Sepuvelda. The Liberty senior took the first set but fell in a tight second set. Worst was unable to overcome a 4-1 deficit in the third set, finishing with a 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 loss.
Next Up
• The No. 63 Flames will host the first round and quarterfinals of the ASUN Championship from the Liberty Tennis Complex The first round is set for this upcoming Thursday and Friday.
• Liberty’s seeding and opponents are to be determined.
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
1,3,2
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1,5,4,6,3