FARMVILLE, Va. - Behind a pair of big singles wins from Sebastian Salinas and Miljan Ruzic coupled with a crucial doubles-point win, visiting James Madison escaped with 4-3 victory over Longwood men's tennis Tuesday afternoon at Lancer Courts.

In back-to-back singles finishes, Salinas picked up a 6-0, 7-5 win over Alfonso Castellano at the No. 1 and Ruzic earned a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Lachlan Manser at No. 6 to help James Madison (7-6) break loose from Longwood after the Lancers won two straight singles bouts. The victory also ends a two-match losing streak for the Dukes.

"This is a heartbreaking loss," said Longwood head coach Pierre Tafelski. "After being down 1-0 after doubles, the guys found the physical and mental strength to fight back in singles and get three singles wins. But in the end, losing the doubles point ended up costing us."

In spite of giving up the doubles and first single point, the Lancers fought their way back into the match with two straight wins from freshman Julian Farthing and junior Florian Uffer.

Moving from his usual No. 2 spot to the No. 3 in the match, Uffer defeated JMU senior Maxi Branth in the second singles finish to bring Longwood to within a point of the Dukes. The win snapped Uffer's two-match winless streak entering the afternoon.

In No. 4 singles, Farthing picked up his second win in as many matches to bring the Lancers even with the Dukes at 2-2. Farthing's 6-1, 7-5 straight sets victory over JMU's Tristan Stitt put Longwood in a position to take control of the match.

However, the doubles point win provided JMU the cushion it needed to hold on and wound up being the deciding point at the end of the day. Ruzic paired up with junior Alex Berdnikoff for a 6-2 victory against Longwood's Bharani Sankar and Ilchev in No. 3 doubles to seal JMU's advantage.

With the match already decided after the Dukes received match-clinching wins from Ruzic and Salinas, the Lancers still saw junior Rosen Ilchev battle to earn Longwood's final point in a three-set win at the No. 6 position. Ilchev beat Berdnikoff 7-6 (9-7), 2-6, 6-4 for his second singles victory of the season.

"Rosen fought hard to pull off our third point. The guys showed toughness and character to keep fighting to the end," Tafelski said.

Longwood will now have two days to prepare for the second of back-to-back matches at home when it takes on reigning Big South champion Winthrop Friday, March 18. First serve is set for 3 p.m. at Lancer Courts.

#GoWood

Singles
1. SALINAS, Sebastian (JMU) def. CASTELLANO, Alfonso (LWU) 6-0, 7-5
2. MOORHEAD, Brett (JMU) def. SANKAR, Bharani (LWU) 6-1, 6-1
3. UFFER, Florian (LWU) def. BRANTH, Maxi (JMU) 7-5, 7-6 (7-0)
4. FARTHING, Julian (LWU) def. STITT, Tristan (JMU) 6-1, 7-5
5. ILCHEV, Rosen (LWU) def. BERDNIKOFF, Alex (JMU) 7-6 (9-7), 2-6, 6-4
6. RUZIC, Miljan (JMU) def. MANSER, Lachlan (LWU) 6-1, 6-2

Doubles
1. CASTELLANO/FARTHING (LWU) def. BRANTH/MOORHEAD (JMU) 6-4
2. STITT/SALINAS (JMU) def. UFFER/MANSER (LWU) 6-3
3. RUZIC/BERDNIKOFF (JMU) def. SANKAR/ILCHEV (LWU) 6-2
Match Notes:
James Madison 7-6
Longwood 3-6
Order of Finish
Doubles: 2,3,1
Singles: 2,4,3,1,6,5