The No. 73 Liberty Lady Flames tennis team fell to the Lipscomb Bisons 4-3 on the road, Saturday night at the Ensworth High School Tennis Center. The Lady Flames (10-6, 1-1 ASUN) got out to a 3-0 lead in the match, but the Bisons (7-7, 2-0 ASUN) won the final four singles matches to take home the win.

Liberty won two doubles matches to take the initial point and quickly won two singles to get to a 3-0 lead. The Bisons claimed the next three singles matches and took the win after a marathon three-set match ended in the Bisons’ favor on court two. Lipscomb’s Sofiia Paladi prevailed 6-3, 0-6, 7-5 over Liberty’s Esther Lovato to secure the come-from-behind triumph.

Lipscomb gets its first victory over Liberty in program history. Before Saturday, the Lady Flames held a 5-0 all-time record over the Bisons.

Lipscomb 4, #73 Liberty 3

Singles Competition

1. Sasha Dobranos (LIP) def. Maria Parra Romero (LIBERTYW) 6-3, 6-2
2. Sofiia Paladi (LIP) def. Esther Lovato (LIBERTYW) 6-3, 0-6, 7-5
3. Marina Davtyan (LIBERTYW) def. Anja Trbeznik (LIP) 6-4, 6-1
4. Tiffany Nguyen (LIBERTYW) def. Liza Diachenko (LIP) 6-1, 6-4
5. Alina Cherniaieva (LIP) def. Elsa Kirch (LIBERTYW) 1-6, 6-3, 6-2
6. Taisia Yakunina (LIP) def. Maretha Burger (LIBERTYW) 6-4, 7-6 (7-2)

Doubles Competition

1. Tiffany Nguyen/Maria Parra Romero (LIBERTYW) def. Sasha Dobranos/Anja Trbeznik (LIP) 6-3
2. Sofiia Paladi/Alina Cherniaieva (LIP) vs. Alexandra Almborg/Maretha Burger (LIBERTYW) 5-2, unfinished
3. Marina Davtyan/Esther Lovato (LIBERTYW) def. Liza Diachenko/Perri Howard (LIP) 6-3

Liberty 10-6, 1-1 ASUN; National ranking #73
Lipscomb 7-7, 2-0 ASUN
Order of Finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (3,4,1,5,6,2)
T-3:56 A-28

How It Happened
• The Lady Flames secured the first doubles match on court three, as Marina Davtyan and Esther Lovato (5-1) defeated Liza Diachenko and Perri Howard 6-3.
• The clinching doubles match for Liberty came on court one as Tiffany Nguyen and Maria Juliana Parra Romero got past Sasha Dobranos and Anja Trbeznik 6-3.
• Liberty claimed the first singles point to go up 2-0 in the match thanks to Davtyan (8-3) taking down Trbeznik 6-4, 6-1, on court three.
• Liberty raced out to the commanding 3-0 lead after Liberty’s Nguyen bested Diachenko 6-1, 6-4 at No. 4 singles. Nguyen is having a strong season, notching her tenth singles win on Saturday.
• Lipscomb got its first point on court one with the Bisons’ Dobranos defeating the Lady Flames’ Parra Romero 6-3, 6-2. The loss for the Liberty sophomore was just her second of the season compared to 10 wins, and has played all her matches in the No. 1 position.
• The Bisons narrowed the lead to 3-2 after Liberty’s Elsa Kirch fell to Alina Cherniaieva 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the No. 5 singles contest.
• Lipscomb tied the match at 3-3 on court six, with Taisia Yakunina taking down the Lady Flames’ Maretha Burger in the tiebreaker of the second set 6-4, 7-6 (2).
• The match came down to court two with Liberty’s Esther Lovato facing off with the Bisons’ Paladi. Paladi took the first set comfortably 6-3, before Lovato roared back in the second set for a 6-0 result in her favor. The third set was full of incredibly long rallies, with the Liberty junior trailing most of the set. Lovato was down 3-0 and 4-1 before working back to take a 5-4 lead. Paladi took the final three games to get the set and the match 6-3, 0-6, 7-5.
• This is the first match Liberty has lost this season in which it won the doubles point. The Lady Flames entered the night with a 7-0 record in matches they won the doubles point in.
• Saturday night’s match started at around 8 p.m. Eastern and ended just before midnight.

Next Up
• Liberty comes back home on Friday for another ASUN battle, this time hosting North Alabama (6-8, 1-1 ASUN). The match is set for Friday at 11 a.m. from the Liberty Tennis Complex.
• The Flames look to continue their winning ways versus North Alabama. The Lady Flames are 4-0 all-time versus the Lions.

Main Photo at Top of Story: Maretha Burger