SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Longwood snapped a four-match skid in dominant fashion, taking down Western Carolina 6-1 in a neutral-site matchup Monday on the campus of USC Upstate.
 
Longwood (4-5) entered the matchup after dropping four straight, all on the road at indoor facilities, but a return to outdoor play keyed the runaway win over the Catamounts. Longwood swept the doubles point and grabbed a pair of straight-sets singles wins before senior ace Malin Allgurin picked up her fifth No. 1 singles win of the season.
 
"Really big win today against a good Western Carolina team," first-year Longwood head coach Bruce Myers said. "Playing outdoors, that finally was a huge boost to our players. We followed what has been a very successful game plan for us: win the doubles point and have Mason [Thomas] play solid tennis to get another early point."
 
Thomas won Duke's first singles point for the fifth time this season, sweeping Montse Messales 6-2, 6-1 at the No. 5 slot to improve to 7-2 on the year. Thomas, a sophomore from Buchanan Dam, Texas, has been locked in at the No. 5 spot all season, losing just one of her eight bouts as Longwood's fifth in the rotation.
 
Thomas' quick singles victory followed a double sweep in which Allgurin and Paloma Alatorre knocked off Western Carolina's top pairing of Megan McLinden and Shannon Bettiol 8-5 to improve to improve to 5-4 on the year. Longwood's No. 2 duo of Anna Pelak and Nicole Parker responded with an 8-7 (7-5) win over Nicole Nielly and Montse Messales to lock up the point.
 
From there, Mason carried the momentum with her straight-sets single win followed by a 6-3, 7-5 win at No. 3 from Maria Coronel, a 6-4, 3-6, 6-0 win at No. 4 from Alatorre and Coronel's 6-4, 5-7, 6-1 win over Shannon Bettiol at the top spot.
 
"Our players competed hard and picked up some really hard-fought wins from Malin, Paloma and Maria," Myers said. "It's a short turnaround time for our match tomorrow, but to stop a losing streak in convincing fashion is a great start to our spring break."
 
The Longwood women will stick around in Spartanburg to face host USC Upstate Tuesday at 2 p.m. The 10-match road swing continues on March 5 at Gardner-Webb and March 6 at Winthrop before Longwood finally returns to Farmville to host UNC Asheville on March 10 at noon.
 
Longwood 6, Western Carolina 1
March 2, 2015
Spartanburg, S.C.
 
Doubles
No. 1: Malin Allgurin/Paloma Alatorre (LWU) d. Shannon Bettiol/Megan McLinden 8-5
No. 2: Anna Pelak/Nicole Parker (LWU) d. Nicole Nielly/Montse Messalles 8-7 (7-5)
No. 3: Maria Coronel/Mason Thomas (LWU) DNP
 
Singles
No. 1: Malin Allgurin (LWU) d. Shannon Bettiol 6-4, 5-7, 6-1
No. 2: Megan McLinden (WCU) d. Anna Pelak 6-1, 6-3
No. 3: Maria Coronel (LWU) d. Nicole Nielly 6-3, 7-5
No. 4: Paloma Alatorre (LWU) d. Erin Maguire 6-4, 3-6, 6-0
No. 5: Mason Thomas (LWU) d. Montse Mesalles 6-2, 6-1
No. 6: Nicole Parker (LWU) win by forfeit
 
#GoWood