ROCK HILL, S.C. - Not much has been able to slow down the Longwood men's tennis team in the midst of an historic 2017 season. Not even the Big South's preseason favorite.
 
Lancer senior Florian Uffer punctuated a dramatic 4-3 win over Big South powerhouse Winthrop Saturday afternoon, edging Ruy Teixeira 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 in the game-winning match to send the Lancers (7-2, 2-1 Big South) to another upset victory in the midst of a breakout season under second-year head coach Pierre Tafelski.
 
With the match tied 3-3, Longwood's senior captain gutted out a narrow third-set win over his No. 2 counterpart from Winthrop to give Longwood its first win over an Eagles program that has won six Big South titles since 2004, including two of the past three. 
 
Uffer's victory capped an historic upset for the Lancers, who rallied from a 2-0 deficit thanks to singles wins from No. 3 Julian Farthing, No. 4 Arthur Bardellotto and No. 5 Noah Petralia before Uffer's match-winner.
 
"They are physically prepared to go through an intense match like this, but our mindset improved in order to pull it off," said Tafelski, a former ITA Division II National Assistant Coach of the Year at Hawaii Pacific.
 
"The guys came out strong in singles after losing the doubles point, and being up one set on five courts gave us confidence. They played with a lot of energy and intensity all the way through. They made adjustments from the Campbell match, which made us stronger today."
 
The win came just one day after Big South foe Campbell handed the Lancers their first Big South loss of the season, 4-1 Friday at the Hampden-Sydney Tennis Courts. That loss snapped a three-match win streak for the Lancers but did little to derail a breakthrough campaign that has seen the program surge to third place in the Big South after earning the lowest spot in the league's preseason poll.
 
That same poll ranked Winthrop as the favorite to take home the 2017 Big South Championship, but it was the Lancers who came out on top Saturday.
 
The Eagles took the early 1-0 lead they had after doubles and pushed it to 2-0 behind Diego Quarez's straight-set win over Longwood's Amadeo Blasco 6-1, 6-2. Saturday's defeat was the first for the freshman phenom who had started his career 8-0 with only two matches going a full three sets.
 
Fellow freshmen Arthur Bardellotto and Noah Petralia helped Longwood's cause, sweeping through at courts four and five by scores of 6-4, 7-6 and 6-3, 6-4 to being the match even at 2-2. Longwood sophomore Julian Farthing gave Longwood its first lead of the day with a 6-4, 7-6 sweep at court No. 3, before Joshua Ryan took a three-set win from Jorge Gomis at seed No. 6 to knot the match at 3-3 and set the stage for Uffer's dramatics.
 
Longwood stays at home for the next three matches beginning Wednesday as they take on Howard. Match time is set for noon from the H-SC Tennis Courts.
"We will now adjust the little details to get ready for our next match," Tafelski said.
 
Longwood 4, Winthrop 3
March 11, 2017 at Rock Hill, S.C.
 
Singles competition
1. QUIROZ, Diego (WINTHROP) def. BLASCO, Amadeo (LWUM) 6-1, 6-2
2. UFFER, Florian (LWUM) def. TEIXEIRA, Ruy (WINTHROP) 6-4, 4-6, 7-5
3. FARTHING, Julian (LWUM) def. PAPPAYIANNIS, L. (WINTHROP) 6-2, 6-2
3. BARDELLOTTO, Arthur (LWUM) def. DIAS, Gabriel (WINTHROP) 6-4, 7-6
5. PETRALIA, Noah (LWUM) def. GOKHALE, Aditya (WINTHROP) 6-3, 6-4
6. RYAN, Joshua (WINTHROP) def. GOMIS, Jorge (LWUM) 6-7, 6-3, 6-3
 
Doubles competition
1. BLASCO, Amadeo/UFFER, Florian (LWUM) def. DIAS, Gabriel/QUIROZ, Diego (WINTHROP) 6-1
2. TEIXEIRA, Ruy/PAPPAYIANNIS, L. (WINTHROP) def. BARDELLOTO, Arthur/FARTHING, Julian (LWUM) 6-4
3. GOKHALE, Aditya/RYAN, Joshua (WINTHROP) def. PETRALIA, Noah/GOMIS, Jorge (LWUM) 6-3
 
Match Notes
Longwood 7-2
Winthrop 1-8
 
Order of Finish
Doubles: 1, 3, 2
Singles: 1, 3, 5, 4, 6, 2
 
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