Men’s Tennis Tops FGCU In ASUN Finals To Clinch National’s Bid
After 34 years the Liberty men’s tennis team won its first conference title in program history after sweeping the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles in the finals of the 2021 ASUN Men’s Tennis Championship.
With a win over the Eagles, the Flames received an automatic bid into the 2021 Division I Men’s Tennis Championship, which will begin May 7.
“Looking back on where we started just four years ago, how all these guys got to Liberty together and how our family was brought up to Liberty, I want to thank God for that,” Head Coach Derek Schwandt said. “He’s the reason that we’re here and that I am where I am today.”
The Flames entered into the tournament ranked No. 48 in the nation and were favored to win. Throughout the regular season, the Flames went undefeated in the ASUN with a 6-0 record. They continued to show their dominance once tournament play started, losing only one competition throughout the entire tournament.
After narrowly losing to North Florida in the semifinals of the 2019 ASUN tournament and missing out on the 2020 tournament due to COVID-19, the Flames were excited to finally reap the benefits of their hard work.
“We look up to Rafael Nadal. ‘Stay hungry, stay humble’ is his motto. We’ve adopted that on our team,” Schwandt said. “This whole year, last year, when the season ended all the way up until now, they didn’t get down on themselves. I’m super proud of the guys and how they persisted all season. We’re blessed to stay together all the way so far.”
Sophomore and former ASUN Men’s Tennis Player of the Week Deji Thomas-Smith had an impressive performance and played a pivotal role against the Eagles.
In the doubles competition, Liberty’s Thomas-Smith and Christiaan Worst trailed 6-5 to Florida Gulf Coast’s Magnus Johnson and Max Damm, but the Flames scored another point to force a tiebreaker. Thomas-Smith then asserted his dominance and helped the Flames duo build a 6-1 lead. They would go on to win that match 7-4.
With that excellent performance, Thomas-Smith was selected to the ASUN All-Tournament team.
“I’m feeling ecstatic. I have so much adrenaline right now,” Thomas-Smith said. “From the very start with the doubles competition it was a battle. We had a breakdown on our side of the court, but we managed to fight back and win in the tiebreaker.”
Thomas-Smith was not the only Flame to have an impressive performance. Rafael Marques Da Silva was also chosen to the ASUN All-Tournament team.
Marques Da Silva recorded a perfect 6-0 overall record in his first ASUN Championship and his outstanding performances in the regular and postseason have not gone unnoticed. Marques Da Silva was named ASUN Men’s Tennis Player of the Week three times this season, so it was no surprise when he received the ASUN Championship MVP honors.
With the ASUN tournament ending and the NCAA tournament approaching, the Flames are optimistic and motivated to see what their future holds.
“It’s a great reward. Hard work doesn’t always get rewarded right away, (but) eventually it does,” Schwandt said. “With these guys, I think of perseverance. They stayed motivated. They stayed hungry.”
The Flames will find out who they play in the first round of the tournament May 3 at 6:30 p.m. during the 2021 NCAA Men’s Tennis Selection Show.
Emmanuel Adamson is a Social Media Manager. Follow him on Twitter at @Eadamson12.