Box Score
BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Longwood University men's tennis team lost its season opener, 7-0, at No. 43 Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., on Saturday afternoon. The Lancers return to action on Sunday, January 20 when they take on Morgan State University in Richmond beginning at 3 p.m.
“I thought we competed well against a very tough Virginia Tech team,” said head coach
Jakob Gustafsson. “With the limited amount of practice we had this week, it was a good performance by the players. As a team, we need to start better in our matches. If we would have done that today, I think we could have stolen a few points from them. I look forward our team getting better and better with each match we play, and I'm confident we will peak by the time we enter the conference schedule.”
In singles play, senior
Giorgi Khmiadashvili|Tbilisi, Georgia (Public School 148) dropped the #1 match 6-1, 6-1 to No. 29 Andrea Bjarrehus, while
Daniel Elston|St. Austell, Cornwall, England (Ralph Allen School) fell in the #2 match 6-1, 6-4 to Lucas Oliveira. Other singles decisions included a 6-0, 6-1 loss by
Edward Becker|Sydney, Australia (Manly Selective Campus) at #3, a 6-2-6-4 loss by
Harry Kelleher|Sydney, Australia (St. Aloysius College) at #4, a 6-0, 6-4 loss by
James Fudge|Kaarst, Germany (Millfield School) at #5 and a 6-4,-6-2 loss by
Bharani Sankar|Glen Allen (Deep Run) at #6.
Khmiadashvili and Elston suffered an 8-4 setback in the #1 position of doubles play. Kelleher and Becker lost in the #2 slot, 8-4, and Sankar and Fudge fell as the #3 duo, 8-1.
Singles
1.
Giorgi Khmiadashvili LOST to #29 Andrea Bjarrehus 6-1, 6-1
2.
Daniel Elston LOST to Lucas Oliveira 6-1, 6-4
3.
Edward Becker LOST to Mauricio Anton 6-0, 6-1
4.
Harry Kelleher LOST to Trpimir Kujundzic 6-2, 6-4
5.
James Fudge LOST to Aaron Gomez 6-0, 6-4
6.
Bharani Sankar LOST to Marko Lovrinovic 6-4, 6-2
Doubles
1. Khmiadashvili/Elston LOST to #15 Bjerrehus/Contini 8-4
2. Kelleher/Becker LOST to Koonts/Olivera 8-4
3. Sankar/Fudge LOST to Anton/Kujundzic 8-1
