Flames Look to Extend Win Streak in Florida
3/12/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
The Liberty men's tennis team will look to extend its current four-match win streak on their spring break trip this week, with a pair of neutral-site contests in Orlando, Fla. The Flames take on New Jersey Institute of Technology at 8 a.m., Tuesday before facing Chicago State at 10 a.m., Wednesday.
Liberty's current streak began in Oklahoma, with a 7-0 win over Oral Roberts (Feb. 27). The next day, the Flames downed No. 64 Oklahoma State, 4-3, for the program's first win over a nationally ranked squad. Head Coach Chris Johnson's team then returned East, defeating UMBC (4-3) and Coker (8-1) last week.
The Flames are a combined 40-20 in singles matches this season and 21-9 in doubles contests in 2012.
Siim Tuus and Wayne Harrell continue to pile up singles victories, as each are 7-2 on the season.
Meanwhile, in doubles, Giancarlo Lemmi and Tuus have paired for an unbeaten 4-0 mark. Tristan Stayt and Shea Thomas are close behind, owning a 3-0 record as a duo.
Liberty's match on Tuesday will mark the halfway point of their regular-season schedule, and will also present the team with the opportunity to have a five-match win streak for the third-straight year.
The Flames are 1-0 against NJIT, after taking a 7-0 win from the Highlanders last year in Florida. Starting its own spring break matches on Monday, NJIT had its six-match win streak snapped by Valparaiso with a 4-3 loss.
The Highlanders will own a 9-3 record as they take on Liberty, with all three of the team's losses coming by a slim 4-3 margin. Rider, Villanova, Wagner and Lafayette are among the teams that NJIT has claimed dual victories over this season.
Fraser Croad is 11-1 for the Highlanders, suffering his first singles setback of the season Monday against Valparaiso. Joao Tasca is also nearing double-digit victories for 2012, winning his last seven matches to improve to 9-1. NJIT is 55-17 overall in singles play this season.
Petr Rousar and Victor Martinez play in the lead doubles position for the Highlanders and are 6-4 on the year. The duos of Bryan Keelan and Tasca and Ike Kiro and Holger Norregaard have posted strong records thus far, at 8-2 and 7-2, respectively. NJIT is 25-11 overall in doubles matches.
The Flames will then take on Chicago State at 10 a.m., Wednesday, with the Cougars seeking their first win of 2012. Chicago State is currently 0-9, and will also face NJIT on Tuesday at 3 p.m. before taking on Liberty on Wedneday. It will be the first meeting between the Flames and Cougars.
