Flames Return Home for Outdoor Opener
Sunday, 03/18/2012
After playing nine contests away from Lynchburg, the Liberty men's tennis team will look to continue its six match win streak at home, Sunday at 1 p.m., when they welcome Gardner-Webb for a Big South tilt. The contest will take place at Liberty's Hershey Tennis Courts, serving as the team's first outdoor home game of 2012.
Since dropping its conference opener on the road to Coastal Carolina, 4-3, the Flames have reeled off six wins in a row. The Flames have now had a five match win streak each of the last three years.
Siim Tuus and Wayne Harrell continue to be the pacesetters in singles play, each owning eight wins on the year for the Flames. A quartet of Flames are close behind, with six wins apiece.
Meanwhile, Tuus and Giancarlo Lemmi are 5-0 in doubles play, with Tristan Stayt and Shea Thomas also holding an unbeaten record of 4-0.
Liberty will seek its first conference win of 2012 as they host Gardner-Webb. The Runnin' Bulldogs are 4-8, but have the chance to improve their record on Saturday when they face Charlotte. Gardner-Webb is also 0-1 in conference action, falling to Radford, 7-0, in late February.
Roman Piftor is Gardner-Webb's singles wins leader at 7-5, playing primarily in the No. 4 slot. Brendan Dempsey has held down the lower portion of the lineup, going 6-4, largely in the No. 6 position. Korhan Ates has been the No. 1 singles player, holding a 3-8 record overall.
Earnest Alberch and Matthew Parker are 4-4 as a tandem, posting the most wins for the Runnin' Bulldogs.
Live match updates will be available throughout the match, Sunday, by clicking the live stats link on the team's schedule page.