TULSA, Okla. – Three Liberty University tennis players—Rodrigo Santiago Arraez, Siwanat Auytayakul, and Benjamin Sparks—each finished with a 1-1 record at the ITA All-American Championships held this weekend in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Furthermore, Angel Veliz made his Davis Cup debut, representing Ecuador against Great Britain.
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In the championships, Arraez secured his first victory over Santa Clara's Valentin Laure with a score of 6-3, 6-4. However, he was defeated in his next match by UNLV's Marko Makimovic, the No. 3 seed in the pre-qualifying bracket, with a close score of 6-3, 6-4. Auytayakul and Sparks each recorded wins in the consolation rounds, with Auytayakul overcoming Northwestern's Cyrus Mahjoob 7-5, 6-3, and Sparks defeating Washington's Stephane Kamdendje 6-3, 6-3.
Meanwhile, 18-year-old Veliz, one of the youngest players in the Davis Cup, faced No. 175 Harry Wendelken of Great Britain. Despite a strong performance, Veliz lost the match 6-2, 6-3. He demonstrated an effective service game, hitting 57 percent of his first serves (41-of-72) and 77 percent of his second serves (24-of-31), including one ace.
Looking ahead, all four players will return to competition as Liberty prepares to host its only fall event. The Liberty Dual will take place at the Liberty Tennis Complex over three days, beginning on Friday. The event schedule will be announced later this week.