Liberty Men's Tennis Set For 2 Key Big South Clashes, Friday and Sunday
4/5/2018 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Live Video: Liberty vs. Winthrop
Live Scoring: Liberty vs. Winthrop
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Liberty men's tennis puts its unbeaten Big South record (4-0) on the line this weekend with matches against conference foes Presbyterian and Winthrop, Friday and Sunday.
The Flames (12-8) are 4-0 in the Big South for the first time in program history. They will take on defending conference champion Presbyterian (7-12, 3-2 BSC) in Clinton, S.C., on Friday. First serve is slated for noon at the Templeton Tennis Courts.
On Sunday, Liberty will host first place Winthrop (9-6, 5-0 BSC) for a noon match at the Cook Tennis Center for Senior Day. The Liberty men's tennis program will take time prior to the match to honor its two seniors, Diego Castano and Sam Matheson.
How to Follow the Flames
There will be no live scoring for Friday's Liberty-PC match.
However, the Liberty Flames Sports Network (LFSN) will broadcast Sunday's match, and it will be streamed live on the Big South Network. Live scoring, courtesy of Liberty Athletics Communications, will also be available for the contest. Find links for live video and live scoring on the Liberty men's tennis schedule page on LibertyFlames.com.
In addition, follow @LibertyMTennis on Twitter and "libertyumenstennis" on Instagram for match updates and live look-ins before, during and after Sunday's match.
Series History
Liberty is 6-4 all-time against Presbyterian. However, the Blue Hose ended the Flames' season last year (April 13, 2017) in the 2017 Big South Men's Tennis Championship quarterfinals. PC prevailed, 4-1, on the way to winning the Big South title.
Winthrop holds a 25-3 advantage against Liberty. The Eagles topped the Flames, 5-2, most recently on April 12, 2017 in Rock Hill, S.C. The 2018 Big South Men's Tennis Championship will be contested at Winthrop's Memorial Courts.
Flames News and Notes
- The Flames were 5-6 overall to start the year but have won seven of their last nine bouts since Feb. 28. In their 4-0 start to conference play, they've taken down Longwood (5-2 on Feb. 28, Gardner-Webb (4-3 on March 9), UNC Asheville (6-1 on March 10) and Radford (5-2 on March 24)
- Liberty's last match was on March 24 against Radford at home at Crosswhite Athletic Club. On that day, the Flames bested the Highlanders, 5-2, winning the doubles point and four of six singles matches (Sam Matheson, Chase Burton, Alex Poynter and Diego Castano).
- Seniors Diego Castano and Sam Matheson have been a big reason for Liberty's success this spring. Castano has provided a jolt to the bottom of the Flames' lineup with a Big South-best 13-3 record, including seven straight wins, in the No. 6 slot. The Statesville, N.C., native is a perfect 4-0 in Big South singles matches and 3-1 in conference doubles matches. Meanwhile, Matheson is 12-6 at No. 1 singles and a winner of three straight.
- The Flames are 16-8 (.667) in conference singles matches and 8-4 (.667) in doubles. In singles, Castano (No. 6) and junior Alex Poynter (No. 5) are both 4-0. Chase Burton and Matheson are 4-0 in the No. 3 doubles position.
- Of junior Eddie Gutierrez's 11 singles victories in the spring, eight have come in three sets.
Scouting Presbyterian
The Blue Hose have bested Gardner-Webb (4-3 on March 22), Longwood (4-3 last Friday) and Radford (5-2 last Saturday), with setbacks to Campbell (4-3 on March 17) and UNC Asheville (4-3 on March 28). PC's Daniel Stenger (12-7 spring, 9-5 No. 5) leads the Blue Hose in spring victories and is 5-0 in Big South matches. Alejandro Bejar (9-7 spring, 5-2 No. 3) is 4-1 in Big South singles. In doubles, head coach Patrick Fediuk's squad is led in doubles by Will Baird and Stenger at 5-3 out of the No. 3 position.
Scouting Winthrop
Winthrop has a perfect 5-0 record in conference, with wins over Gardner-Webb (5-2 on March 3) UNC Asheville (5-2 on March 4), Longwood (5-2 on March 18), Campbell (6-1 on March 25) and Radford (6-1 on Tuesday). The Eagles' Tremayne Mitchell is 12-3 in spring singles in the No. 2-5 positions to lead the team. In doubles, Gabriel Dias and Joshua Ryan are 9-0 in the No. 3 slot in head coach John Collins' lineup.
