Flames, Lady Flames make a racket at MACRC season opener at NC State

Friday, September 27

Raleigh, NC

Liberty University Club Sports

Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Racquetball Conference

Flames graduate Luke Hagberg taps racquets with senior doubles teammate Andrew Cook during a practice at the LaHaye Recreation & Fitness Center courts.

Flames, Lady Flames make a racket at MACRC season opener at NC State

10/5/2024 5:15:00 PM | Racquetball

Liberty's men's and women's racquetball teams built early leads in the conference standings after last weekend's three-day tournament.

Liberty University's racquetball team traveled to its season-opening Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Racquetball Conference (MACRC) tournament last Friday through Sunday at North Carolina State University's Carmichael Gym in Raleigh, N.C., and quickly established itself as the team to beat.

The Flames, who have a 10-man roster, and Lady Flames, who feature eight players this season, both opened early leads in the MACRC standings. The women's team amassed 930 points at NC State to dominate the rest of the field, with only Appalachian State and the University of Virginia scoring any points with 90 apiece. Liberty's men, meanwhile, earned 767 points in its matches to build an advantage on UVA (620), the host Wolfpack (550), and the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (144).

Paige Jordan finished first in the Division 1-3 combined women's singles bracket and teamed with fellow senior Natalie Blank, who had finished runner-up to Jordan in singles, to win the Division 1-4 combined women's doubles draw. Amber Fredenburg placed third and Madisyn Leyendecker fifth in that singles field before the two sophomores joined forces for a third-place finish in doubles.

Sophomore Maggie Priest defeated Lady Flames freshman Amelia Bennett in the championship match of the Division 4 women's singles bracket, followed by sophomore Isabel Priest in third and freshman Erin Locklin in fourth. Maggie Priest and Bennett formed the fourth-place Division 1-4 doubles team with Isabel Priest and Locklin finishing fifth.

In the men's divisions, graduate Luke Hagberg and sophomore Matthew Cook won the Division 1-2 combined doubles bracket with senior Andrew Cook and junior Nathan Cook finishing third.

Sophomore Austin Dean finished first in the Division 3-4 Red singles draw while senior Bryce Metz took second in the Division 3-4 Blue singles bracket and the pair combined for a second-place showing in Division 3-4 doubles.

Dean, sophomore Drew Berthiaume, and freshman Jarod Hollins landed in first, second, and fourth place, respectively, in Division 3-4 singles. Matthew Cook, Hagberg, and Andrew Cook finished second, third, and fifth, respectively, in the Division 1 singles draw and Nathan Cook placed fourth in Division 2.

Hollins and Berthiaume came in fifth in Division 3-4 doubles.

The Flames and Lady Flames will next compete in the second MACRC tournament of the semester from Nov. 15-17 at UNC Chapel Hill.

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer