Friday, November 10
Raleigh, NC
5:00 PM
Liberty University Club Sports
at
Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Racquetball Conference
Racquetball rebuilding for another strong run at MACRC title, national finish
11/9/2023 2:44:00 PM | Racquetball
Liberty opened its season with a strong showing at UNC Chapel Hill and travels to NC State for this weekend's second MACRC tournament.
Coming off back-to-back top-five showings at the USA Racquetball Collegiate National Championships, Liberty University's racquetball team has high hopes and expectations of continuing to contend for the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Racquetball Conference (MACRC) crown and national qualification.
"We lost a lot of our best players (to attrition and graduation) last year," said senior Luke Hagberg, who has moved into the No. 1 singles and doubles position. "So it is just about trying to form a new team identity, and it has been really cool to see myself and some other people being able to step up and we've been able to grow a lot as a team and get a lot better. I think we're going to end up doing a lot better than we may have thought we would have at the beginning of the year, which is really cool."
"All the new people are really coming in, practicing and playing, and they seem to be having a lot of fun," junior Andrew Cook added.
The Flames and Lady Flames opened their season with a second-place showing at a MACRC tournament at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill on Sept. 29-Oct. 1 and will travel to North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C., for a second conference event this Friday through Sunday.
"We went to our first tournament and I was really amazed at how well they played," Liberty founding Head Coach Danny Rodriguez said. "They are putting more effort into it now because now they know they have to fill those shoes."
Hagberg and fellow senior Timothy Adams moved up to the Division I rank and played competitively at that level.
"That was a big step up, and even though we didn't win as much, we were able to hold our own," said Hagberg, who also teamed up with Cook, who captured the Division II men's singles title, to win the Division I doubles draw.
Sophomore Natalie Blank also won the women's Division 4 bracket.
"We put a good, strong showing out and I think we'll continue to improve through each tournament and will still be able to compete as one of the best schools around here," Hagberg said.
The Flames and Lady Flames are targeting a return trip to the USA Racquetball Collegiate Nationals in the spring.
"Two years ago, we got fifth in the nation and last year we got fourth in the nation," Rodriguez said. "We're striving to do better every year."
"Seeing that success the past couple of years has been really good for the mentality of the team," Hagberg said. "Even though our talent level may not be as high as it has been in the past few years, we still have faith in ourselves to be able to perform well. We won our regional conference the last couple years as well and I think we can repeat that. We just really need to focus on getting better every day."
Video edited by Micah Adams/Club Sports Video & Media Assistant
"We lost a lot of our best players (to attrition and graduation) last year," said senior Luke Hagberg, who has moved into the No. 1 singles and doubles position. "So it is just about trying to form a new team identity, and it has been really cool to see myself and some other people being able to step up and we've been able to grow a lot as a team and get a lot better. I think we're going to end up doing a lot better than we may have thought we would have at the beginning of the year, which is really cool."
"All the new people are really coming in, practicing and playing, and they seem to be having a lot of fun," junior Andrew Cook added.
The Flames and Lady Flames opened their season with a second-place showing at a MACRC tournament at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill on Sept. 29-Oct. 1 and will travel to North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C., for a second conference event this Friday through Sunday.
"We went to our first tournament and I was really amazed at how well they played," Liberty founding Head Coach Danny Rodriguez said. "They are putting more effort into it now because now they know they have to fill those shoes."
Hagberg and fellow senior Timothy Adams moved up to the Division I rank and played competitively at that level.
"That was a big step up, and even though we didn't win as much, we were able to hold our own," said Hagberg, who also teamed up with Cook, who captured the Division II men's singles title, to win the Division I doubles draw.
Sophomore Natalie Blank also won the women's Division 4 bracket.
"We put a good, strong showing out and I think we'll continue to improve through each tournament and will still be able to compete as one of the best schools around here," Hagberg said.
The Flames and Lady Flames are targeting a return trip to the USA Racquetball Collegiate Nationals in the spring.
"Two years ago, we got fifth in the nation and last year we got fourth in the nation," Rodriguez said. "We're striving to do better every year."
"Seeing that success the past couple of years has been really good for the mentality of the team," Hagberg said. "Even though our talent level may not be as high as it has been in the past few years, we still have faith in ourselves to be able to perform well. We won our regional conference the last couple years as well and I think we can repeat that. We just really need to focus on getting better every day."
Video edited by Micah Adams/Club Sports Video & Media Assistant
Players Mentioned
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