HARRISONBURG, Va. – Freshman Alfonso Castellano won his second straight match and first career match atop the Longwood lineup, but James Madison answered with five of six singles victories to claim a 6-1 win over the Lancers Wednesday afternoon at Hillside Courts.

With Dan Elston not in the Longwood lineup, Castellano was thrust into the top singles position. Castellano responded with his second straight win over James Madison ace Robert Sterling, 2-6, 7-6 (1), 1-0 (7).

Unfortunately for Longwood (3-14, 0-8), it was the lone bright spot of the day, dropping four of the five remaining singles matches in straight sets. Bharani Sankar rebounded after dropping the first set in his match against Miljan Ruzic to force a third set tiebreak at the No. 5 position. However, Ruzic ultimately prevailed in the tiebreak to take the match, 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (9).

Steed Johnson suffered a 6-3, 6-2 loss against Sebastian Salinas at the No. 2 spot in the order, while Florian Uffer fell to Brett Moorhead at the No. 3 spot, 6-4, 6-1. Meanwhile, Rosen Ilchev dropped his match on court four, 6-0, 6-3, against Maxi Branth, while Lachlan Manser fell by a 6-3, 6-1 score against Stephen Goldman.

The Dukes took the doubles point  by sweeping the three matches. Ruzic and Salinas were dominant in a 8-1 victory against Johnson and Manser atop the lineup. Meanwhile, the JMU tandem of Robert Stirling and Moorhead defeated Longwood's No. 2 pair of Uffer and Castellano, 8-5.

James Madison (6-8, 2-2) swept the doubles point with Maxi Branth and Alex Berdnikoff earning an 8-4 victory against Sankar and Ilchev.

Longwood returns to the courts to play its final home match of the season Thursday, April 2 against North Carolina A&T. Thursday's match will mark the final home competition of the season for the Lancers, as Elston and Johnson will be honored for senior day prior to the start. First serve is set for 3:30 p.m.

Tennis Match Results
Longwood vs James Madison
April 01, 2015 at Harrisonburg, Va.
(Hillside Courts)
 
James Madison 6, Longwood 1
 
Singles
1. CASTELLANO, Alfonso (LWU) def. Stirling, Robert (JMU) 2-6, 7-6 (7-1), 10-7
2. Salinas, Sebastian (JMU) def. JOHNSON, Steed (LWU) 6-3, 6-2
3. Moorhead, Brett (JMU) def. UFFER, Florian (LWU) 6-4, 6-1
4. Branth, Maxi (JMU) def. ILCHEV, Rosen (LWU) 6-0, 6-3
5. Ruzic, Miljan (JMU) def. SANKAR, Bharani (LWU) 6-2, 4-6, 11-9
6. Goldman, Stephen (JMU) def. MANSER, Lachlan (LWU) 6-3, 6-1
 
Doubles
1. Ruzic, Miljan/Salinas, Sebastian (JMU) def. JOHNSON, Steed/MANSER, Lachlan (LWU) 8-1
2. Stirling, Robert/Moorhead, Brett (JMU) def. UFFER, Florian/CASTELLANO, Alfonso (LWU) 8-5
3. Branth, Maxi/Berdnikoff, Alex (JMU) def. SANKAR, Bharani/ILCHEV, Rosen (LWU) 8-4
 
Match Notes:
Longwood 3-14 (0-8 Big South)
James Madison 6-8 (2-2 CAA)
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (6,4,3,2,1,5)