Liberty University
Elon
Liberty Notches 10th Win of the Season
3/7/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
For the fifth consecutive season, the Lady Flames tennis squad has reached the double-digit win mark. Liberty bested Elon, 5-2, earlier this afternoon in Elon, N.C. The Lady Flames now improve to 10-2 on the season while the Phoenix fall to 5-5.
The Lady Flames began the match with a tough 8-5 loss from the No. 3 doubles slot when Taylor Casey and Erica Braschi defeated Emily Groeneveld and Mariely Hassey.
However, Liberty proved its fight in doubles play, winning the next two matches. Senior Brittany Yang and sophomore Maria Khval evened up the score in doubles play, besting Kirsten Ward and Barbora Lazarova, 8-3 from the No. 1 doubles slot.
Valerie Thong and Evangeline Crist placed the red and blue on top after narrowly ousting Olivia Lucas and Bridget Liddell, 8-7 (3) from the No. 2 doubles position.
Hassey extended the Liberty lead to two with her straight set victory over Ward, 6-4, 6-3 from the No. 1 singles slot.
Despite facing the 2-0 deficit, Lucas edged the Phoenix closer to the Lady Flames when she defeated Belen Rivera, 6-3, 7-6 (5).
However, it was the two Liberty newcomers in Crist and Groeneveld that clinched the match for the Lady Flames. Crist first extended the lead back out to two when she defeated Maria Camara Ruiz, 6-4, 6-3 from the No. 5 slot. With the singles win, Crist pushes her singles record to a team-best 9-1.
Transfer sophomore, Groeneveld, clinched the match for Liberty when she bested Kamilla Beisenova, 6-3, 6-4 from the No. 6 singles position. Groeneveld's victory pushed the lead to 4-1, securing the 10th win of the season.
With the match already in hand, the Lady Flames split the final two matches with the lone win coming from Khval who battled toe-to-toe with Lazarova, 6-7 (0), 6-0, 6-4.
"Today we beat a very good team in large part because of our improved mental game," stated head coach Jeff Maren. "We continue to compete hard and believe that we can succeed, in spite of the obstacles in front of us. To God be the glory."
The Lady Flames return to action on Tuesday when they travel to Stockton, Calif. to take on the Pacific Tigers. The match is slated to begin at 2 p.m. ET.
Liberty 5, Elon 2
Doubles
- Yang/Khval (LU) def. Ward/Lazarova (ELON), 8-3
- Crist/Thong (LU) def. Lucas/Liddell (ELON), 8-7 (7-3)
- Casey/Braschi (ELON) def. Groeneveld/Hassey (LU), 8-5
Singles
- Hassey (LU) def. Ward (ELON), 6-4, 6-3
- Lucas (ELON) def. Rivera (LU), 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)
- Khval (LU) def. Lazarova (ELON), 6-7 (0-7), 6-0, 6-4
- Braschi (ELON) def. Yang (LU), 2-6, 6-3, 6-1
- Crist (LU) def. Ruiz (ELON), 6-4, 6-3
- Groeneveld (LU) def. Beisenova (ELON), 6-3, 6-4
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
3,1,2
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
1,2,5,6,4,3