FARMVILLE, Va. – Fresh off its first win of the season, Longwood made it a streak by taking down Radford 4-3 in the Big South opener Saturday afternoon at Lancer Courts.

With the match on the line in the final singles bout of the afternoon, Longwood senior Maria Coronel clinched the victory for the Lancers (4-4) on the heels of a convincing win over Radford's Claire Nguyen at No. 6 singles. Coronel defeated Nguyen 6-0, 6-2 win at the No. 6 flight to break a 3-3 tie after the Highlanders (0-6) knotted the score following back-to-back singles wins. Prior to Saturday, the Lancers had lost five straight to Radford, including two last season upon being swept by the Highlanders, 4-0, in the first round of the Big South Tournament.

"This is the biggest win for the program since I've been here," said Longwood head coach Bruce Myers. "It was a total team effort. We had improved doubles play and a great clinching win by Maria [Coronel], who has improved her play this year.  It's great to finally see us play to our potential."

Longwood started the match with a 3-1 lead after sweeping all three double matches and earning a pair of singles wins from juniors Paloma Alatorre and Mason Thomas. Thomas beat Radford senior Grace Sarver 6-2, 6-3 in the No. 5 spot, while Alatorre defeated Taylor Fay in No. 4 singles.

The Highlanders responded with two straight singles victories to even the score, kicked off by a three-set win from Mieli Martin. After splitting the first two sets with Longwood freshman No. 3 Isis Gill-Reid, Martin battled to earn the No. 3 singles win over Gill-Reid 6-2, 3-6, 6-4.

At No. 2 singles, Tarrannum Handa evened the match 3-3 after winning on straight sets in the second three-set bout of the day. Despite dropping the first set to Longwood junior standout Anna Pelak, 3-6, Handa bounced back with back-to-back 6-4 set wins against Pelak to square things up.

In the end, Longwood's doubles point win with wins in all three doubles matches proved to be vital in the Lancers' one-point team victory. The Longwood duo of Pelak and Thomas sealed the point with a 6-3 win over Radford's Handa and Sarver in the No. 2 doubles match.

The Lancers also saw the pairings of Alatorre and Coronel, and Burger and Gill-Reid earn doubles wins. The Longwood duo of Alatorre and Coronel beat Radford's Fay and Karlie Pope 6-3, while Burger and Gill-Reid defeated Highlanders Natalie Sayer and Martin.

"The home fans helped us stay positive throughout, and we couldn't have done it without them," said Myers, who is nearly halfway to leading Longwood back to a second straight 10-win season. "We still have things to work on but this was a big step forward for the program."

Longwood will look to win a third straight match and remain unbeaten in conference action when it welcomes Coastal Carolina to Lancer Courts Friday, March 4. First serve is set for 10 a.m.

#GoWood

Match Results
Longwood 4, Radford 3

1. Natalie Sayer (RAD) def. Fallon Burger 6-1, 3-2 (withdraw)
2. Tarrannum Handa (RAD) def. Anna Pelak (LWU) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
3. Meili Martin (RAD) def. Isis Gill-Reid (LWU) 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
4. Paloma Alatorre (LWU) def. Taylor Fay (RAD) 7-5, 6-2
5. Mason Thomas (LWU) def. Grace Sarver (RAD) 6-2, 6-3
6. Maria Coronel (LWU) def. Claire Nguyen 6-0, 6-2

Doubles

1. Burger/Gill-Reid (LWU) def. Natalie Sayer/Martin (RAD) 6-3
2. Pelak/Thomas (LWU) def. Handa/Sarver (RAD) 6-3
3. Alatorre/Coronel (LWU) def. Fay/Pope (RAD) 6-3

Match Notes:
Longwood (4-4), Radford (0-6)
Order of Finish: Doubles: 3,2,1 Singles: 1,5,4,3,2,6