Liberty's Four-Match Winning Streak Ends at Charlotte, Wednesday

Liberty's four-match winning streak came to an end with a 4-2 setback at Charlotte, Wednesday afternoon at the Halton-Wagner Tennis Complex.

The Lady Flames move to 10-3 on the season, including a 4-3 mark on the road. Charlotte bolsters its record to 14-4 and has won its last five matches. The 49ers are 10-0 at home in 2021.

Liberty started the match strong by earning the doubles point. Esther Lovato then put the Lady Flames ahead 2-1 in the match with her 12th straight singles victory to start the season. The 49ers rallied to win the next three singles matches, all in straight sets, for their 14th win of the spring.

Thoughts From Head Coach Jeff Maren
"Charlotte is an excellent team with great grit and talent. We fought hard and had a lot of effort, and because of that, I'm very proud of the girls. It was especially tough for us to see Marina go down with an injury during singles. We are praying for a quick recovery for her."

Charlotte 4, Liberty 2

Singles Competition
1. Ruxi Schech (CLT) def. Alexandra Almborg (LIBERTYW) 6-2, 6-2
2. Margaux Maquet (CLT) def. Marina Davtyan (LIBERTYW) 5-2, retired
3. Rocio Safont (CLT) def. Tiffany Nguyen (LIBERTYW) 6-1, 6-3
4. Esther Lovato (LIBERTYW) def. Kaavya Sawhney (CLT) 6-2, 6-1
5. Jenna Dean (CLT) def. Eloise Saraty (LIBERTYW) 6-2, 6-4
6. Emma Wilkins (CLT) vs. Micaela Ode Mitre (LIBERTYW) 6-4, 5-1, unfinished

Doubles Competition
1. Ruxi Schech/Kaavya Sawhney (CLT) def. Alexandra Almborg/Eloise Saraty (LIBERTYW) 6-3
2. Tiffany Nguyen/Micaela Ode Mitre (LIBERTYW) def. Margaux Maquet/Jenna Dean (CLT) 6-4
3. Marina Davtyan/Esther Lovato (LIBERTYW) def. Emma Wilkins/Rocio Safont (CLT) 6-4

Liberty 10-3
Charlotte 14-4
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (2,4,5,1,3)
T-2:34

How It Happened
• Liberty got off to a promising start by winning two of the three doubles matches to seize the first point of the contest. Charlotte's top duo, Ruxi Schech and Kaavya Sawhney, defeated Liberty's Alexandra Almborg and Eloise Saraty 6-3. The Lady Flames' No. 2 and No. 3 units picked up victories.
• Liberty's No. 2 doubles team, Tiffany Nguyen and Micaela Ode Mitre, knocked off Margaux Maquet and Jenna Dean 6-4. Nguyen and Ode Mitre are a team-best 9-2 in doubles.
• The Lady Flames' No. 3 doubles squad, Marina Davtyan and Esther Lovato, were even at 4-all with Emma Wilkins and Rocio Safont before taking the last two games for a 6-4 triumph and a 1-0 Liberty lead. Davtyan and Lovato are 4-0 as a pairing this season, with all four victories coming in the last 12 days.
• Charlotte's first point of the day came from Maquet on court two, who won by retirement (5-2 first set) over Davtyan.
• Lovato (Liberty) extended her winning streak to 12 matches to start the season and 17 matches dating back to 2020. She led throughout her match with Sawhney in winning 6-2, 6-1 for a 2-1 Liberty lead.
• During Lovato's current 17-match winning streak, she has won 16 of those matches in straight sets.
• Charlotte won at No. 5, No. 1 and No. 3 singles to secure the 4-2 victory. On court five, Dean got past Saraty in two sets (6-2, 6-4). The 49ers took their first lead of the day (3-2) with a No. 1 singles win from Schech over Almborg, 6-2, 6-2.
• The 49ers' Safont closed out the match for the home team with a 6-1, 6-3 result against Nguyen at No. 3 singles.
• This is the first time this season that Liberty has lost a match in which it won the doubles point.
• This is the first time this year that the Lady Flames had faced a team with more victories on the season than them entering the match.
• Charlotte has closed the gap and now trails Liberty 3-2 in the all-time series between the two schools.  

Next Up
• Liberty will play its first ASUN match of the season at North Alabama (4-8) on Friday. The Lady Flames and Lions will battle at 11 a.m. at the UNA Varsity Tennis Courts.
• Liberty is 1-0 versus UNA, having defeated the Lions 4-0 on the road in 2019.