The Liberty University women’s tennis team keeps rolling, bringing home another win in its battle with George Washington University March 24. The team started off strong with powerful serves from all three courts and continued into the game with emphatic attacks and speedy returns.
The Flames dominated the doubles with freshman Sadie Daavettila and senior Esther Lovato bringing home a 6-0 win, junior Maria Julianna Parra Romero and senior Tiffany Nguyen taking a 6-2 victory and a 5-1 final on court two won by junior Priscila Janikian and freshman Maria Turchetto.
“I think in doubles, when it’s two versus two, it’s very team-oriented,” Flames Head Coach Jeff Maren said. “There’s a lot of camaraderie; there’s a lot of communication strategy that they can work together with. And I think the girls generally really like that. They like to have a partner on the court with them. When they’re playing singles, it’s by themselves. They’re having to figure things out by themselves.”
Sadie Daavettila and the Lady Flames swept in the doubles competition | Photo by Luke Bessire
While the Flames are dominant in both doubles and singles, fifth-year player Lovato enjoys taking victories in either area.
In singles, Liberty finished strong with three unfinished matches and three wins. Parra Romero, Nguyen and redshirt freshman Daniella O’Neill finished strong with three unfinished matches of 3-2, 0-1 and 2-5, respectively, but congratulated their teammates who took on the win. Both Daavettila and Lovato claimed the win 6-2 and 6-0, respectively, and Turchetto stepped up against George Washington University’s Rena Ishigushi to finish with a 6-3 win.
“I think we’ve grown a lot as a team,” Daavettila said. “I think that the seniors and the upperclassmen have helped me and (Turchetto) and the other freshmen amazingly. They were so patient in the beginning when we were making all these mistakes with our outfits and things like that. So, I think that they were super helpful. … I think that they’ve just set the tone for the rest of us moving forward.”
Tiffany Nguyen is one of the seniors to be honored on Senior Day March 29 | Photo by Luke Bessire
And with the end of the season now in sight, the team and its head coach feel that they’re playing their best tennis when it matters most.
“I think our level of tennis has gotten better,” Maren said. “We played a strong level of competition this season, so I think that’s helped us to grow. We’ve been forced to grow in terms of our tennis, but I think what’s really helped us is our culture. … The girls are very bonded with each other. They think of each other as family members, and so they’re playing for each other as opposed to just for themselves.”
Liberty currently sits at No. 65 in the nation with 10 wins and five losses, now looking ahead to honor its seniors on Senior Day after their match March 29 against Radford.
Johnson is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion