With bouquets of flowers in their hands, Liberty women’s tennis seniors Alexandra Almborg and Micaela Ode Mitre posed for the cameras, surrounded by their team as Senior Day ceremonies wrapped up.
Though both Lady Flames had injuries preventing them from playing, Head Coach Jeff Maren made sure to emphasize the impact these two ladies have had on the team.
“They put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this program to help us get to the next level, and they’ve done their share of winning and have really helped us,” Marne said. “Their character has been really important to us to have a great culture on our team and to be solid and very family oriented. They’ll be sorely missed.”
“I’ve truly learned what a family is, and we’ve really been a family here on this team, and we have so much love and support for each other on and off the court,” Almborg reflected. “I will always cherish and value that.”
On the court, the Lady Flames faced their first-ever matchup against Queens. Junior Esther Lovato and doubles partner Marina Davtyan won their fifth consecutive match 6-0, moving to 8-1 this spring. Sophomores Maretha Burger and Bruna Sampaio then fell to their Royals opponents with a score of 5-1, and Queens tied up the match points. However, sophomore Maria Juliana Parra Romero and junior Tiffany Nguyen rallied from an early deficit to win the final match 6-3 and take the first overall point for the Lady Flames.
Following the close doubles victory, Liberty dominated Queens in the singles matches. Parra Romero won the first point for the Lady Flames in singles as her opponent retired due to an injury. Burger clinched the second singles point, with a pair of 6-0 and 6-2 victories. Liberty sealed the overall victory following Tiffany Nguyen’s domination, winning both sets 6-1.
While those ladies finished up, they turned to the other side of the Liberty Tennis Complex to support their teammates. Davtyan battled early frustrations and a disagreement with her opponent to win the first set 6-3. Energized by her teammates’ support, Davtyan finished strong with a 6-2 victory in set two. After sophomore Elsa Kirch fell in her match to give Queens their lone point, all eyes turned to Esther Lovato in the final match.
Lovato won her first set but fell behind early in set two. As her match unfolded, more spectators and teammates watched with interest to see if the junior could pick up the victory. With 91 career singles victories, Lovato needed just a few more game points to pick up win number 92 and tie Evangeline Crist (2015-2018) for the school record.
With the swing of a racket and a perfectly placed ball, Lovato turned to her teammates and let out a victorious shout as she won the second set, taking the victory and tying the record.
“It’s such a surreal feeling when you’re the last one and you have your team screaming for you,” Lovato said following the match. “I had no idea (about the record). I don’t really keep track of wins or losses or anything like that, so it’s pretty awesome. (I’m) very grateful.”
“When a record is first achieved, you think it’s going to stay there for a long time,” Marne acknowledged. “When Evangeline (Crist) had 92 wins I thought, ‘Well, that’s going to stay there for a good long period of time.’ Just a few short years later, Esther comes and ties it. She’s done an incredible job. She’s one of those people that is difficult to beat, and this record shows it.”
As the Lady Flames move to 13-6 on the season and 4-1 in conference play, Almborg had one final reflection.
“Seeing (the team) fight for me and (Mitre) when we are not able to play is an incredible feeling,” Almborg said.
Barnes is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion. Follow him on Twitter