Wilson Sets New Program Record for Singles Wins at ITA Atlantic Regional

Liberty senior Josh Wilson put his name in the record books on Saturday at the ITA Atlantic Regional with his singles win. Wilson’s victory in the Gold (main) draw round of 32 was the 78th of his career, establishing a new school record.

Wilson entered the regional tied with Chase Burton (77 wins, 2016-20). Wilson, the No. 8 seed in the main draw, defeated Georgetown’s Arthur O’Sullivan in straight sets (6-3, 6-3) for the record-breaking win at the Virginia Tennis Facility at Boar’s Head Resort.

On day four of the ITA Atlantic Regional, Liberty went 2-2 in singles and 4-4 in doubles. Through four days, the Flames are 8-7 in singles and 4-4 in doubles.

Key Stats & Notes

• Wilson is 78-41 in singles for a .655 winning percentage in his time at Liberty.

• Wilson will look to carry the momentum into Sunday’s round of 16, where he will face VCU’s Rayane Stable at 9:30 a.m.

• Wilson and his doubles partner, Christiaan Worst, split their pair of matches on Saturday. Entering the tournament as the No. 4 seed in the Gold (main) doubles draw, Wilson and Worst topped James Madison’s Holden Koons and Youssef Sadek 8-4 in their opening match. The Flames duo was edged by the William & Mary Tribe’s Andres Silva and Joseph Brailovsky 8-7 (5).

• Liberty’s Rafael Marques Da Silva also advanced to the round of 16 with a 6-4, 6-3 decision over Julian Lozano of JMU. The native of Brazil will take on VCU’s Matisse Bobichon tomorrow morning (9:30 a.m.).

• The Flames’ Zion Heaven and Beau Pelletier downed the duo of Manuel Goncalves (Virginia Tech) and Charl Morgan (Penn State) by an 8-3 score in their Gold (main draw) round of 32 contest. Heaven and Pelletier lost 8-6 to VCU’s Stable and Bobichon in the round of 16.

• The other two Liberty doubles duos – Thando Longwe-Smit/Omar El Kadi and Rafael Marques Da Silva/Deji Thomas-Smith – both lost their round of 32 matches in the Gold draw. However, both pairings bounced back for victories in the consolation draw. Longwe-Smit and El Kadi bested JMU’s Edson Sanchez and Julian Lozano 8-4. Marques Da Silva and Thomas-Smith knocked off Georgetown’s Zamaan Moledina and Kieran Foster 8-2.

• The Flames’ Worst and Pelletier fell in the singles round of 32. Worst lost to VCU’s Joaquin Almeida 6-3, 7-5, while Pelletier’s setback was to Temple’s Marin Delmas 6-3, 6-1.

Up Next

Day four of the ITA Atlantic Regional will begin at 11:15 a.m.

Sunday – 11:15 a.m. start – Round of 16 and Quarterfinals of Gold Singles, one round of Consolation for first match losers of Gold Draw (played indoors), Quarterfinal and Semifinal Rounds of Gold Doubles

Monday – 9 or 10 a.m. start – Semifinals and Final Rounds of Gold Singles, Final Round of Gold Doubles