Liberty University Athletics issued the following announcement on Jan. 7
The defending ASUN champion Liberty men’s tennis squad has been tabbed to finish first in the 2022 ASUN Men’s Tennis Preseason Coaches Poll.
This marks the first time in program history that Liberty has been tabbed to win the ASUN. The Flames received seven of the nine first-place votes and 79 points in the poll. The 2021 ASUN runner-up FGCU Eagles (70 points) were tabbed to finish second in conference, followed by North Florida (one first-place vote, 58 points) and Stetson (one first-place vote, 57 points).
Rounding out the poll were Kennesaw State (fifth, 46 points), conference newcomer Jacksonville State (sixth, 37 points), Lipscomb (seventh, 30 points), North Alabama (eighth, 15 points) and Bellarmine (ninth, 13 points).
The Flames will begin their spring campaign at No. 7 Virginia on Jan. 20 at the Boar’s Head Sports Club in Charlottesville, Va. First serve is scheduled for noon. Liberty’s first ASUN match will take place on March 18 at Kennesaw State. Liberty is 12-1 all-time in ASUN regular-season play since joining the league prior to the start of the 2018-19 school year.
The Flames will have one final tune-up, the Liberty Spring Hidden Dual, next weekend (Jan. 14-16) at the Liberty Indoor Tennis Center. Liberty will take on Youngstown State (Friday), Charleston (Saturday) and James Madison (Sunday) over the course of three days in the fall-formatted event.
Liberty is coming off its best season in program history in 2021, winning a program-record 20 matches and capturing its first conference title in program history. The Flames topped FGCU 4-0 in the ASUN Championship final. Liberty and FGCU will battle on March 20 in Fort Myers, Fla. Liberty finished the spring 2021 campaign as the No. 39-ranked team in the nation, a program record. The Flames were listed among the top-50 teams in the country in each of the final seven national rankings.
Liberty returns eight players from last year’s championship team, including two-time ASUN Player of the Year (2019, 2021) Nicaise Muamba. ASUN Championship MVP and All-Conference first team honoree Rafael Marques Da Silva is also back for the Flames, along with 2021 ASUN Doubles Pair of the Year Deji Thomas-Smith and Christiaan Worst.
2022 ASUN Conference Men’s Tennis Preseason Coaches Poll
Team (first-place votes) Total Points
1. Liberty (7) 79
2. FGCU 70
3. North Florida (1) 58
4. Stetson (1) 57
5. Kennesaw State 46
6. Jacksonville State 37
7. Lipscomb 30
8. North Alabama 15
9. Bellarmine 13
Original source can be found here.
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