VARGA BATTLES BACK TO GIVE RADFORD 4-3 WIN VS. LIBERTY

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RADFORD, Va. – Looking to extend its Big South winning streak to two matches, Radford fell behind early to Commonwealth foe Liberty, before taking four out of the last five singles matches for a 4-3 comeback victory, Sunday afternoon at the Radford Tennis Complex.

The victory improved Radford (6-13) to 3-3 in league play as the Highlanders now sit in the middle of the pack of the Big South standings. Entering the match without a conference win, Liberty (7-12) fell to 0-5 in conference action.

To start the match, Radford and Liberty split the first two doubles matches. Janken Thoen and Samuel Taylor teamed up for their seventh win on the season and second in league play with a 6-4 win in No. 3 doubles.

Looking to take the doubles point, Rodrigo Magalhaes and Matko Varga dropped a 6-4 decision to Alex Poynter and Vince Salas as the Flames took the opening point.

The Flames continued their stretch of winning as Chase Burton knotted the match with a 6-0, 6-3 win against Magalhaes in No. 1 singles.

After falling behind 2-0, Radford made its charge. Robin Calais and Thoen followed with back-to-back wins to tie the match. Thoen handed Radford its first point with a 6-4, 6-4 decision over Max Borcuti. The win is his sixth in the last 10 matches and his team leading eighth win on the season. Thoen is now tied with Taylor for the team lead in singles match wins in Big South play with three.

Calais followed Thoen with a 6-3, 6-3 win in No. 4 singles, besting Liberty's Ryker Heller. The win marked the first in league play for Calais.

Following the quick singles matches, Liberty and Radford focused in on the final three matches on court two, three and six.

Alexandros Caldwell dropped his first match on court two 6-2, before batting back to take sets two (6-2) and three (6-4) as Radford took its first lead on the day.

The Highlander lead was short lived as Diego Castano rebounded on court three after losing a first-set tiebreaker 7-6 (7-5) to Taylor, finishing the match with a pair of 6-3, 6-3 wins to even the match once again, this time 3-3.

Coming down to the final match on court six, Varga found himself down early, dropping a 6-3 opening set to Poynter. Varga bounced back to seize set two, 7-5. Tied at three, the match came down to one final set. Varga trailed Poynter 5-1 in the final set, before completing an improbable comeback, winning six straight games and the match for a 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 match clinching victory.

Improving to 4-3 on their home court, Radford will conclude Big South play and the regular season with a Wednesday home match against Longwood at 3 p.m. The Highlanders look to finish conference play with a winning record for the first time since 2011-12.

Singles Competition

1. Chase Burton (Liberty) def. Rodrigo Magalhaes (Radford) 6-0, 6-3
2. Alexandros Caldwell (Radford) def. Victor Salas (Liberty) 2-6, 6-2, 6-4
3. Diego Castano (Liberty) def. Samuel Taylor (Radford) 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-3
4. Robin Calais (Radford) def. Ryker Heller (Liberty) 6-3, 6-3
5. Janken Thoen (Radford) def. Max Borcuti (Liberty) 6-4, 6-4
6. Matko Varga (Radford) def. Alex Poynter (Liberty) 3-6, 7-5, 7-5

Order of Finish: (1,5,4,2,3,6)

Doubles Competition

1. Poynter/Salas (Liberty) def. Magalhaes/Varga (Radford) 6-4
2. Castano/Heller (Liberty) def. Caldwell/Calais (Radford) 6-2
3. Thoen/Taylor (Radford) def. Thoen/Taylor (Radford) 6-4

Order of Finish (2,3,1)

Match Notes
Radford (6-13, 3-3 Big South)
Liberty (7-12, 0-5 Big South)

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Players Mentioned

Alexandros Caldwell: 6' 0"; Sophomore

Samuel Taylor: 5' 10"; Redshirt Senior

Janken Thoen: 6' 1"; Senior

Robin Calais: 5' 11"; Freshman

Matko Varga: 5' 10"; Freshman

Rodrigo Magalhaes: 5' 10"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Alexandros Caldwell
: 6' 0"; Sophomore

Samuel Taylor
: 5' 10"; Redshirt Senior

Janken Thoen
: 6' 1"; Senior

Robin Calais
: 5' 11"; Freshman

Matko Varga
: 5' 10"; Freshman

Rodrigo Magalhaes
: 5' 10"; Freshman