Marshall Rallies, Slips Past Liberty 4-3 on Saturday

Marshall rallied from a 3-0 deficit to slip past Liberty 4-3, Saturday at the Brian David Fox Tennis Center.

The Lady Flames fall 12-4 on the season and see a two-match winning streak ended. The Herd improve to 5-5 and have won back-to-back matches.

Thoughts From Head Coach Jeff Maren
"I'm really proud of how much effort and fight we gave today. Grace and Tiffany were hindered physically yet gave everything they had. Alex and Esther played really well today in both singles and doubles. Marshall is a tough team, so I was impressed with the overall battle and am sure that we matured a little bit more today. To God be the glory!"

Marshall 4, Liberty 3

Singles Competition
1. Alexandra Almborg (LIBERTYW) def. Anna Smith (MAR) 6-4, 6-3
2. Daniela Dankanych (MAR) def. Tiffany Nguyen (LIBERTYW) 6-7 (6-8), 6-3, 6-2
3. #123 Esther Lovato (LIBERTYW) def. Madi Ballow (MAR) 6-3, 6-2
4. Liz Stefancic (MAR) def. Micaela Ode Mitre (LIBERTYW) 6-4, 7-5
5. Jutte Van Hansewyck (MAR) def. Eloise Saraty (LIBERTYW) 7-6, 6-2
6. Madison Riley (MAR) def. Grace Hashiguchi (LIBERTYW) 6-3, 6-2

Doubles Competition
1. Alexandra Almborg/Eloise Saraty (LIBERTYW) def. Jutte Van Hansewyck/Liz Stefancic (MAR) 6-2
2. Daniela Dankanych/Anna Smith (MAR) vs. Tiffany Nguyen/Micaela Ode Mitre (LIBERTYW) 6-5, unfinished
3. Grace Hashiguchi/Esther Lovato (LIBERTYW) def. Madison Riley/Madi Ballow (MAR) 6-4

Liberty 12-4
Marshall 5-5
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (3,1,5,6,4,2)
T-3:15

How It Happened
• Liberty claimed the doubles point for an early 1-0 lead. The Lady Flames' No. 1 unit, Alexandra Almborg and Eloise Saraty, picked up their 10th win of the spring. The duo defeated Marshall's Liz Stefancic and Jutte Van Hansewyck 6-2.
• Liberty's No. 3 doubles team, Grace Hashiguchi and Esther Lovato, topped Madison Riley and Madi Ballow of the Herd 6-4 to clinch the doubles session. Hashiguchi and Lovato are 2-0 in doubles this spring.
• Lovato, who earned a No. 123 national ranking in singles from the ITA on Wednesday, collected another singles victory today. The second-year Lady Flames took down Ballow in straight sets (6-3, 6-2) at No. 3 singles to give Liberty a 2-0 edge. Lovato is 15-0 in singles this spring and has captured 20 straight matches dating back to the 2020 campaign.
• Liberty's lead grew to 3-0 with a No. 1 singles victory from Almborg versus Anna Smith, 6-4, 6-3. Almborg trailed 4-3 in the opening set but took nine of the last 12 games in the match.
• Marshall claimed the final four singles matches (No. 6, No. 5, No. 4 and No. 2) for the comeback victory.
• Riley (No. 6 singles) defeated Hashiguchi of Liberty 6-3, 6-2. The Herd got within a point (3-2) when Van Hansewyck (No. 5 singles) topped Saraty 7-6 (5), 6-2.
• In the No. 4 singles match, Stefancic evened the match at 3-all with a two-set triumph (6-4, 7-5).
• The No. 2 singles match between Dankanych (Marshall) and Nguyen (Liberty) came down to three sets. Dankanych came back after dropping a first set tiebreaker to Nguyen, winning 6-7 (8), 6-3, 6-2.
• Marshall has now won six of eight all-time meetings with Liberty and snaps a two-game losing skid versus the Lady Flames.

Next Up
• Liberty will play an ASUN Conference road match at Bellarmine (0-12, 0-2 ASUN), Sunday at 10 a.m.
• This will be the first-ever meeting between the Lady Flames and the Knights, who are in their first year in the ASUN.