[tennisfan]

Hi Everyone!

This weekend the Lady Flames will open their fall season with the Liberty Fall Classic!
Nick Pierce has posted the 1st Flames interview with our new head coach, Jeff Maren.
If you have a chance check it out,
http://www.libertyflames.com/index.cfm? ... 57&TeamID=

During the interview, Maren discusses this weekend's tournament, his coaching philosophy and what his expectations are for the program.

Other schools competing in the two-day tournament include Virginia Tech, Appalachian State, James Madison, Longwood, Radford, Norfolk State, Christopher Newport and West Virginia State.

The tournament will get underway at 1 p.m. Friday at the Hershey-Esbenshade Tennis Courts with doubles action. Liberty pairs Valerie Thong and Brittany Yang, Rebekah Jenkins and Alexandra Sheeran, Jessie Boda and Cameron Richard, Annisha Domenech and Nicola Wellman will all be playing during the first round of doubles matches.

Times for the first round of singles play are set for 4, 5 and 5:30 p.m. Friday evening. Richard, Sheeran and Thong will play in the first set of first round matches. Domenech is slated to play at 5 p.m., while Boda, Jenkins, Yang and Wellman will wrap up the first round matches beginning at 5:30 p.m.

On a personal note, Cameron is really enjoying her new coach and she says they have been training hard. She definitely feels the family atmosphere that Coach Maren refers to in the interview.

If you are in town please go by and cheer on our Lady Flames!

The draws are also posted along with the quote above:
http://www.libertyflames.com/index.cfm? ... 57&TeamID=

[Sly Fox]

Cool. Amidst all of the focus on Coach Gill this had slid into the background. Thanks for bringing this to the forefront.

[tennisfan]

You're welcome Sly. Here is a tournament update: Looks like a good start!

The Liberty women's tennis team notched nine victories on day one of the Liberty Fall Classic at the Hershey-Esbenshade Tennis Courts.

The Lady Flames won five out of eight doubles matches and four out of six singles matches on the day.

Highlighting doubles action for Liberty was the pair of Jessie Boda and Cameron Richard who reached the finals in the Flight 3 bracket. Boda and Richard notched an 8-6 first round victory over Gaby Celi and Gabby Gabriel of Appalachian State and an 8-2 win over Megan Douglass (JMU) and Rebecca Graff (NSU) to advance to the finals.

Brittany Yang and Valerie Thong as well as Alexandra Sheeran and Rebekah Jenkins also picked up first round victories for the Lady Flames in doubles play.

In singles play, Nicola Wellman, Annisha Domenech, Thong and Boda advanced with convincing first round victories for Liberty.

"This was a pretty good start to our first fall tournament," commented head coach Jeff Maren. "Jessie and Cam played very well in doubles, winning both of their matches to reach the final. I was also impressed with the way we competed in singles, winning four matches comfortably and narrowly losing two. Our fitness levels are improving daily, so I am excited to see how we compete with our longest day coming up tomorrow."

Play resumes on Saturday morning at 9 a.m.

Website link: http://www.libertyflames.com/index.cfm? ... &TeamID=13

[tennisfan]

Congrats to the ladies on a great tournament!

Rebekah Jenkins finished off a solid weekend for the Liberty women's tennis team by capturing the championship in the Flight 4 singles bracket at the Liberty Fall Classic on Saturday.

Jenkins' victory was one of 12 total wins on the day for the Lady Flames and one of 21 triumphs for the tournament. Liberty also reached the finals in five different brackets.

After receiving a first-round bye yesterday, Jenkins notched a semifinal win over Jordan Kerns of West Virginia State, 6-2, 6-2. In the championship match, Jenkins faced Sarah Moomau of Longwood and triumphed in straight sets 6-3, 6-3.

Nicola Wellman, Annisha Domenech and Valerie Thong all picked up semifinal wins in their respective flights for the Lady Flames, but each fell short in their final matches. Alexandra Sheeran also notched a pair of wins on the day for Liberty.

In doubles action, the Liberty combo of Jessie Boda and Cameron Richard fell in the championship match of the Flight 3 bracket to Ruxandra Andriescu and Jacqueline Palmucci of James Madison, 8-3.

"Reaching five finals in our first tournament of the year is definitely a step in the right direction," commented Liberty's first-year head coach, Jeff Maren. "Rebekah and Ally played outstanding today, winning their doubles and both of their singles matches. I am proud of the team's effort and fight, and am looking forward to working on a few things which will help us to improve for our next tournament at Virginia Tech."

The Lady Flames continue their fall schedule by traveling to Blacksburg, Va., for the Hokie Fall Invite beginning Sept. 28.

Website link: http://www.libertyflames.com/index.cfm? ... &TeamID=13