BUIES CREEK, N.C. – In spite of a doubles sweep and five singles victories, Campbell gutted out a hard-fought battle to earn its 6-1 win over Longwood men's tennis Saturday afternoon at the James Nisbet Tennis Center.
 
The early doubles-point win and first two singles wins of the day by Campbell (5-6, 2-0 BSC) proved crucial to setting up sophomore Lukas Schaefer's game-clinching win over Alfonso Castellano in No. 1 singles. In spite of being nearly swept by last year's Big South runner-up, the Lancers pushed the Camels to the limits by taking them to tie-breaking match decisions in the Nos. 2-3 singles finishes to end the day.
 
"We learned and improved from previous matches and competed even harder today against a top team in the Big South," said Longwood head coach Pierre Tafelski. "We were very close to getting two more points but fell short at the end. It gives us more confidence going into the rest of the season."
 
Freshman Julian Farthing gave the Lancers a boost with his block of the sweep which kept the Lancers' alive after the No. 4 singles match. Farthing beat Campbell's Dustin Werner 7-5, 6-3 in the third singles ending that would have given the Camels a 4-0 advantage with a trio of single matches still being played.
 
The Camels sealed the match point with Shchaefer's 6-3, 6-3 victory over Castellano, who returned to the No. 1 spot after switching to the No. 2 in the last match. Schaefer also assisted Campbell in completing the doubles sweep, as he partnered with Dustin Werner for a 6-3 victory over the Lancer pairing of Florian Uffer and Lachlan Manser.
 
Longwood (3-5, 0-3 BSC) then saw its upperclassmen in senior Bharani Sankar and the junior Uffer battle to three-set finishes before Campbell ultimately escaped with the final two points of the day. Campbell's Sola came away with the No. 3 singles point, but only after a close 10-8 outcome following the fight put up by Sankar.
 
Meanwhile, Uffer pushed his first match back at the No. 2 position to a tie-breaker with a 6-4 win in the second set after dropping the first 3-6 against Schwab. However, Schwab made a comeback of his own with a 6-3 victory in the final set to give Campbell its sixth point.
 
Campbell secured the doubles-point win upon 6-1 wins from the pairings of Jonathan O'Neal and Lorenz Schwab at No. 1 and Nicolas Rakitin and Gerard Sola. O'Neal and Schwab defeated Castellano and Farthing 6-1 while Rakitin and Sola also earned a 6-1 victory in their doubles bout against Sankar and Rosen Ilchev.
 
Although they suffered another conference defeat, the Lancers came away from the match with their heads held high due to the improvements they've made from this year to last.
 
"I think we took a step in the right direction," said Sankar, who has filled the No. 3 role for the Lancers in his fourth season. "We've been blown out in conference matches over the last few years, but now we're starting to push these teams that are at the top of the conference. This match was good for our confidence because we're showing that we can compete which helps us believe in ourselves a little more."
 
In its matchup with Campbell last season, Longwood was swept by the eventual runner-up to Big South champion Winthrop. The Lancers now have avoided being swept against two conference foes who swept them last year in Campbell and Coastal Carolina.
 
Longwood will next play the first of two straight home matches this week against James Madison on Tuesday, March 15. The match is slated for a 3 p.m. start.
 
#GoWood
 
Singles
1. SCHAEFER, Lukas (CU) def. CASTELLANO, Alfonso (LWU) 6-3, 6-3
2. SCHWAB, Lorenz (CU) def. UFFER, Florian (LWU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
3. SOLA, Gerard (CU) def. SANKAR, Bharani (LWU) 6-7, 6-1, 7-6 (10-8)
4. RAKITIN, Nicolas (CU) def. ILCHEV, Rosen (LWU) 6-0, 6-1
5. FARTHING, Julian (LWU) def. WERNER, Dustin (CU) 7-5, 6-3
6. DATASHVILI, Giorgi (CU) def. MANSER, Lachlan (LWU) 6-0, 6-1
 
Doubles
1. O'NEAL, Jonathan/SCHWAB (CU) def. CASTELLANO/FARTHING (LWU) 6-1
2. SCHAEFER/WERNER (CU) def. UFFER/MANSER (LWU) 6-3
3. RAKITIN/SOLA (CU) def. SANKAR/ILCHEV (LWU) 6-1
 
Match Notes:
Longwood (3-5, 0-3 BSC)
Campbell (5-6, 2-0 BSC)
Order of Finish:
Doubles: 3,1,2
Singles: 4,6,5,1,3,2