Flames fall to MTSU in CUSA final

The No. 2 seed Liberty University men’s tennis team competed in the 2024 CUSA Men’s Tennis Championship but came up short, losing 4-2 against the No. 1 seed Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders.

The tournament took place at Middle Tennessee in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The Flames finished with a 17-8 overall record.

The day started with the doubles matches, where the Blue Raiders jumped to an early 2-1 lead. The Blue Raiders’ pair of sophomore Shu Matsuoka and freshman Jakub Kroslak defeated Liberty’s pair of freshmen Romeo Hadzimehmedovic and Matija Samardzic 6-1. 

The Flames swung back with senior Rafael Marques Da Silva and redshirt senior Thando Longwe-Smit winning 6-3 to tie it all up heading into the last game. The point came down to court one, with Liberty’s sophomore Luis Felipe Miguel and senior Deji Thomas-Smith versus No. 26 Ondrej Horak and No. 42 Leo Raquin of Middle Tennessee. All eyes watched as both teams traded blows back and forth, but the pair of Blue Raiders pulled away to win 6-3. The Flames fell in their last doubles set, giving Middle Tennessee the lead heading into the singles games.

The Flames had their backs against the walls and needed to perform well in the singles games to have a chance at claiming the CUSA title.

The Flames started off with a win as redshirt freshman Chase Robinson cruised to a victory over Middle Tennessee’s Matsuoka in a 6-1, 6-2 set, putting Robinson’s record at 13-3 for his freshman season. Middle Tennessee would have an answer, though, as Da Silva fell 6-3 and 6-3 to Raquin. Liberty answered with a 6-3, 6-4 win by Thomas-Smith against Horak, marking his second victory of the CUSA Championship. 

The match was all tied up heading into the third set, which ended with another win for the Blue Raiders as Marcel Kamrowski defeated Miguel 6-3, 6-4 to give the Blue Raiders a 3-2 lead heading into the final set. 

This was Liberty’s last chance to try to keep its championship hopes alive, and it all came down to Longwe-Smit for Liberty and Kroslak for Middle Tennessee. The Flames’ comeback hopes flickered away with Kroslak winning the set 6-3, 6-3 and securing the CUSA Championship title for the Blue Raiders.

“We competed hard today against a valiant opponent,” Liberty Head Coach Derek Schwandt said. “We will learn from this experience and get better. Great job by our senior captains this season leading the way in competing and practice habits.”

Liberty finished its debut season in Conference USA with a strong showing, finishing with a No. 53 ranking and as the CUSA runner-up. The Flames now sit and wait for the results of the NCAA men’s tennis selection show April 29, where the team hopes to continue in postseason play.    

Stacy is a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion