FIU earns title victory over Liberty

The Liberty University women’s tennis team headed to the Sunshine State to tackle the CUSA Championship after showing grit through the quarter and semifinals. The team failed to get past Florida’s own FIU in the final match, however, finishing second in the championship Sunday, April 21. 

Going into the tournament, the team ended its season on a high with back-to-back wins. The Flames arrived in Miami, Florida, April 18 for their first CUSA Championship. 

To kick off the tournament, the team faced the No. 7 seed, New Mexico State University, in the quarterfinals April 19. The Flames capitalized over New Mexico early on, securing a team win in doubles from pairs junior Maria Juliana Parra Romero and senior Tiffany Nguyen, redshirt freshman Daniella O’Neill and freshman Maria Turchetto, and senior Esther Lovato and graduate Marina Davtyan. 

Moving into singles matches, the Flames shut out New Mexico again, with Nguyen and Lovato both contesting New Mexico in their matches. Davtyan was the first to find success in singles over NMSU in her seventh consecutive win for the team at 6-0, 6-0, upping Liberty’s score to 2-0 over NMSU. Shortly after, Parra Romero won her sixth consecutive set 6-1, 6-2, which gave the Flames a strong lead. The match was laid to rest at 4-0 as Turchetto claimed the team’s semifinal spot with a 6-1, 6-3 win. 

The next day, Liberty met Jacksonville State University to see out the semifinals. Continuing the lineup from the previous day’s win, the team cruised through Jax State in both singles and doubles. Top performances came from Davtyan as she added another win to her streak, closely followed by Lovato, who upped the team score to 3-0. Concluding the match, the Flames continued their tournament clean sheet with a win of 4-0. 

Finally, with the sun beaming down on the Florida International University tennis courts, Liberty was now head-to-head with the Panthers. Top-seeded FIU had conference experience, and the Flames came in ready to give the Panthers their best efforts. 

Liberty kept its previous doubles lineup, but FIU came out strong, leading midway through the sets. The Flames couldn’t catch up, and the Panthers secured the first win in the final. The Flames continued to keep a positive outlook and looked determined to try and make something happen on the courts. As the singles lined up again on the courts, FIU pushed on with grit to take down Liberty.

O’Neill and Turchetto were able to keep a lead on the Panthers; however, Turchetto was the only one to gain Liberty a win against FIU, ending the match with a 4-1 final. Primed to come back next year with experience and a year of CUSA competition under its belt, Liberty’s 17-win season and perfect 9-0 showing at home signifies another successful season for the Lady Flames and excitement for the future. 

Jolly is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion