LYNCHBURG, Va. – Bluefield State's Conner Pickering won a marathon third game at the No. 6 singles spot to clinch a 4-3 win over Longwood Saturday evening at The Sports Racket indoor tennis facility.
 
Longwood (0-5) and Bluefield State were locked 3-3 with the final singles bout between Pickering and senior Bharani Sankar remaining, but Pickering edged the Longwood senior 12-10 in game three to give the Big Blues the win. The 12-10 third-game win capped a comeback effort for the Bluefield State senior, who fell 6-4 in the first game against Sankar but rallied for a 6-3 win in game two and the two-point win in the decisive third set.
 
Pickering racked up two wins on the day, pairing with Anthony Braem for an 8-5 victory at No. 3 doubles. Bluefield State's Platon Gud and Ignacio Pulido also picked up a win at No. 1 doubles, 8-6 over Dan Elston and Steed Johnson to secure the doubles point and a 1-0 lead.
 
Longwood rallied from the doubles loss with wins at the top three singles spots, including straight sets wins from Elston at No. 1 and Castellano at No. 3. Elston took down Bluefield State ace Gud 6-2, 6-2, followed by Elston's 6-0, 6-2 win at No. 3 and Florian Uffer's 6-7 (9), 6-3, 10-8 victory at No. 2.
 
But despite Longwood's dominance at the top of the rotation, Bluefield State (4-1) took hold of the latter three singles spots. Aziz Uldashev knocked off Johnson 6-0, 7-5 at No. 4, and Pulido handled Rosen Ilchev 6-2, 6-2 at No. 5. With the score knotted at 3-3, Pickering clinched the bout with his three-set win over Sankar at No. 6.
 
Longwood will have a chance to right the ship Tuesday when the Lancers head back to Lynchburg to take on rival Liberty in the Big South opener. First serve is set for 1 p.m.
 
Bluefield State 4, Longwood 3
Feb. 28, 2015
Lynchburg, Va. (The Sports Racket)
 
Doubles
No. 1: Platon Gud/Ignacio Pulido (BSU) d. Dan Elston/Steed Johnson 8-6
No. 2: Alfonso Castellano/Florian Uffer (LWU) vs. Jacob Carey/Aziz Yuldashev DNF
No. 3: Anthony Braem/Conner Pickering (BSU) d. Bharani Sankar/Rosen Ilchev 8-5
 
Singles
No. 1: Dan Elston (LWU) d. Platon Gud 6-2, 6-2
No. 2: Florian Uffer (LWU) d. Jacob Carey 6-7 (9), 6-3, 10-8
No. 3: Alfonso Castellano (LWU) d. Anthony Braem 6-0, 6-2
No. 4: Aziz Uldashev (BSU) d. Steed Johnson 6-0, 7-5
No. 5: Ignacio Pulido (BSU) d. Rosen Ilchev 6-2, 6-2
No. 6: Conner Pickering (BSU) d. Bharani Sankar 4-6, 6-3, 12-10
 
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