Women’s tennis hits off their season

Another tennis season began anew as the Lady Flames hosted their first Hidden Dual at the Liberty Tennis Complex Sept. 17-18.  

The team began its season on Saturday morning, facing a combination of the Georgetown Hoyas, the Campbell Camels and the United States Naval Academy. 

Due to Georgetown having eight players at the beginning of the hidden dual, the Lady Flames played one match each against Navy and Georgetown. Liberty’s Maretha Burger defeated Christina Danford of Navy in straight sets (6-4 and 6-1) while Flames’ Willa Rogers fell to Abbie Tyler of Campbell, who rallied to victory in a tiebreak (6-4, 3-6, 10-5).  

The Lady Flames finished the first day of matches with a 15-4 singles record and a 6-2 doubles record to complete their day at 21-6 overall. The team then handily dispatched Navy on day two of tournament, sweeping the series with a final score of 9-0.  

Overall, the Lady Flames finished 31-8 in the hidden dual, a matchup that Head Coach Jeff Maren said the team had looked forward to for some time.  

 “(The team) did a good job of getting the rust out from summer break,” Maren said. “Any time we play a hidden dual format, the unity is really important.”

The Lady Flames displayed that unity on the courts, supporting those on their team that ended up having their match finish last. This always builds good rapport for a team, and according to junior Esther Lovato, who finished 3-0 in singles and 1-0 in doubles, builds chemistry early in the season. 

“We’ve been practicing singles and doubles sets, (so) we’ve been working really hard to prepare for this moment,” Lovato said. “Those nerves are still there, but … I had a lot of fun.” 

Priscila Janikian, who transferred to Liberty this offseason from the University of California Santa-Barbara, had a similar mindset toward competing for the first time with her new team. 

“The team embraced me like a family, so it was a great opportunity to start playing, (especially with) a win,” Janikian said. “The girls and I, we’re so close to each other and learning more every day. (It) is a great experience.”  

The Lady Flames will look to ride the momentum off the season opener into October, as they host their second hidden dual  Oct. 1-2 at the Liberty Tennis Complex.  

Palermo is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion. Follow him on Twitter