LYNCHBURG, Va. – A match-up of nationally-ranked teams went down to the very end at the Liberty Tennis Complex on Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately for No. 68 William & Mary, the No. 57-ranked Liberty Flames won the final two matches in three sets to pull out a narrow 4-3 decision.
 
W&M (9-8) captured the doubles point and received singles wins from graduate student Satchel Benn and sophomore Albert Hansen. Liberty (13-5) pulled out the match behind four singles victories, including the final two in three sets at No. 3 and No. 4. It marked the Tribe's fifth 4-3 match of the season.
 
How It Happened
- W&M won the doubles point for the ninth time this season with victories at the top two positions.
- Graduate students Konstantinos Raptis and Bill Duo gave W&M the early lead with a strong 6-2 win over Rafael Marques Da Silva and Thando Longwe-Smit at the top spot. The pair improved to 9-5 at No. 1.
- After a Liberty win at No. 3, Benn and freshman Oliver Hague clinched the point with a 7-5 victory on line two over Luis Felipe Miguel and Matija Samardzic. The Tribe duo ran its wins streak to nine in row, upping its ledger to 14-5 overall and 10-4 at No. 2.
- The Flames pulled even at one with a victory at No. 1, before Benn put the Tribe back on top with his fourth-straight win. He trailed Luis Felipe Miguel, 5-3, in the opening set on line two, before winning the final four games to pull out the set. Benn improved to 16-9 overall with his eighth win at No. 2 behind a 7-5 second set win.
- Liberty again pulled even, but this time, it was Hansen who stepped up. The Tribe sophomore won matching 6-4 sets to down Rodrigo Santiago Arraez at No. 5 and give W&M a 3-2 lead. Hansen upped his mark to 12-8 overall and 6-3 on line five.
- The balance of the match came down to three-setters at No. 3 and No. 4.
- At No. 4, Hague won the opening set from Longwe-Smit, but the Flames fifth-year senior rallied to win the final two sets to tie the contest at three.
- Raptis came back to force a third set at No. 3. After dropping the first, 6-2, to Deji Thomas-Smith, the Tribe graduate student took the second by a 7-5 scoreline. Thomas-Smith jumped out to a 2-0 in the third, but Raptis answered with three games in a row. The Liberty senior rallied to claim the match, 7-5, and clinch the Flames victory.
 
Up Next
The Tribe returns home for a CAA tilt with Elon on Monday afternoon. The contest is slated for a 3:30 p.m. at the Mackesy Tennis Center, weather permitting.
 
#57 Liberty 4, #68 William & Mary 3
Singles
No. 1 – Rafael Marques Da Silva (LU) def. Alexandre Leblanc (W&M) – 6-0,  6-1
No. 2 – Satchel Benn (W&M) def. Luis Felipe Miguel (LU) – 7-5, 7-5
No. 3 – Deji Thomas-Smith (LU) def. Konstantinos Raptis (W&M) – 6-2, 5-7, 7-5
No. 4 – Thando Longwe-Smit (LU) def. Oliver Hague (W&M) – 2-6, 7-6 (0), 6-1
No. 5 –  Albert Hansen (W&M) def. Rodrigo Santiago Arraez (LU) – 6-4, 6-4
No. 6 – Chase Robinson (LU) def. Bill Duo (W&M) – 6-2, 7-5
Finishing Order: 1, 2, 6, 5, 4, 3*
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Duo/Raptis (W&M) def. Marques Da Silva/Longwe-Smit (LU) – 6-2
No. 2 – Benn/Hague (W&M) def. Miguel/Samardzic (LU) – 7-5
No. 3 – Thomas-Smith/Hadzimehmedovic (LU) def. Leblanc/Bortnichek (W&M) – 7-5
Finishing Order: 1, 3, 2*