A quartet of Liberty men’s tennis players competed at the prestigious 28th Annual William H. Metzger Pennsylvania State Clay Court Open over the weekend.
Liberty’s Rafael Marques Da Silva, Goncalo Ferreira, Thando Longwe-Smit and Zion Heaven all competed at the event held in Harrisburg, Pa. The tournament was held at four different venues: Colonial Golf & Tennis Club, West Shore Country Club, Hershey Country Club and The Country Club of Harrisburg.
Marques Da Silva, a rising sophomore for the Flames, made Liberty’s deepest run in the tournament. The native of São Paulo, Brazil won four singles matches and reached the semifinals. Marques Da Silva’s impressive run included victories over Princeton’s No. 1 player , Karl Poling, in three sets (3-6, 6-3, 6-2) and a win over former Florida Gator standout McLain Kessler (82-36 in singles at Florida) in straight sets (6-3, 6-4).
Ferreira, a rising sophomore for Liberty, claimed a pair of matches in the singles draw, besting Neel Epstein in two sets (6-1, 6-3) and Sebastian Mermersky in three sets (0-6, 6-4, 1-0 (6)).
In doubles, Longwe-Smit and Heaven teamed up to earn one victory.