The Liberty men's tennis team will take on UMBC at 1 p.m. on Wednesday and Coker at 10 a.m. on Saturday, before entering its spring break schedule next week.
Liberty's men are coming off a successful trip to Oklahoma, where the Flames defeated Oral Roberts, 7-0, and then knocked off No. 64 Oklahoma State, 4-3, for the program's first-ever win over a ranked opponent. Both matches were contested at the University of Tulsa's Case Tennis Center, allowing Liberty to improve its neutral-site record to 4-0, while the team's overall record now stands at 5-3.
The Flames have been led by Siim Tuus in the No. 1 slot, as the junior holds a 6-2 record. Freshman Wayne Harrell also owns six singles wins, and is in the midst of a five-match win streak. The East Windsor, Conn., native provided the match-clinching point in the team's victory over Oklahoma State, scoring a come-from-behind win in the No. 5 match.
Senior Giancarlo Lemmi isn't far behind, as the Sao Paulo, Brazil native is 5-3 this season in singles play. Lemmi leads the team in doubles victories with six, pairing with Harrell (3-2), Tuus (2-0) and Dillon Segur (1-0) for his wins.
UMBC is 4-3 this season. The Retrievers have posted back-to-back losses to Old Dominion and Penn, after having a four-match win streak.
Liberty is 4-2 all-time against UMBC, with the last meeting taking place in 1998, a 6-1 win for the Retrievers.
As Liberty makes its way to Orlando, Fla., for its spring break trip, the Flames will face Coker in Hartsville, S.C. The Cobras are 4-4 this season, but have two more matches before hosting the Flames, Saturday.
Guillermo Aylon and Manel Estruga lead Coker with 6-2 records in singles play, while the duo of Aylon and James Corfield are unbeaten in No. 2 doubles matches at 7-0.