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FARMVILLE, Va. – Less than 24 hours after a 4-3 gut-check Big South win over UNC Asheville, the Longwood men's tennis team completed their weekend sweep with a dominant 4-0 win over Morgan State Sunday morning at the Hampden-Sydney Tennis Courts.
The win was the sixth in the past seven matches for the streaking Lancers (9-2, 3-1 Big South), who currently sit in second place in the conference tied with Campbell after a 2-0 weekend behind clutch victories in singles play. Sunday's match was played until a decisive fourth point was determined due to a men's and women's doubleheader against the Bears.
Sunday's victory marks the third three-match win streak Longwood has enjoyed this season, a feat they haven't accomplished since the 2014-15 season when they closed the season with five consecutive victories. With the win, Longwood also leads the Big South in overall win percentage at 9-2, and surpassed their win total from a season ago.
Sunday against a scrappy Morgan State team (2-9), the Lancers asserted their will in a tiebreak from Arthur Bardellotto at No. 4 and a straight-set 6-4, 6-4 win from newcomer Jorge Gomis at the No. 5 slot.
"The guys played a serious match," said 2015-16 Longwood SAAC Coach of the Year,
Pierre Tafelski. "We stayed disciplined all the way through to pull off the win."
Longwood took the doubles point in sweeping fashion with scores of 6-2, 6-4, 7-5 taking the 1-0 lead into singles play, needing only three wins to clinch the match. Gomis stepped in to secure the match-winner Sunday, ending it with his fourth win of the spring just a day after falling in a hard-fought three-set loss at court six.
After playing hero by clinching Saturday's win over Asheville, Amadeo Blasco took a 6-0, 6-2 straight-set victory at No. 3, while Bardellotto pushed the Lancer lead to 3-0 with his straight-set win, thanks to a tiebreak in his first set for a 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 win.
Longwood plays its second of three straight nonconference matches with a trip to James Madison Wednesday, March 22. Match time against the Commonwealth-foe Dukes is set for 4 p.m. in Harrisonburg, Va.
Longwood 4, Morgan State 0
March 19, 2017 at Farmville, Va. (H-SC Tennis Courts)
Singles competition
1. UFFER, Florian (LWUM) vs. FIELD, Jeremy (MSU) 6-4, 4-4, unfinished
2. FARTHING, Julian (LWUM) vs. RAMAKRISHNAN, A. (MSU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-5, unfinished
3. BLASCO, Amadeo (LWUM) def. LABIK, Ondrei (MSU) 6-0, 6-2
4. BARDELLOTO, Arthur (LWUM) def. RAWAL, Nihit (MSU) 7-6 (7-3), 6-1
5. GOMIS, Jorge (LWUM) def. KRUSINSKI, Lucas (MSU) 6-4, 6-4
6. MANSER, Lachlan (LWUM) vs. SATHYANARAYANAN, S. (MSU) 7-6, 2-3, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. BLASCO, Amadeo/UFFER, Florian (LWUM) def. FIELD, Jeremy/LABIK, Ondrei (MSU) 6-2
2. BARDELLOTO, Arthur/FARTHING, Julian (LWUM) def. RAWAL, Nihit/SATHYANARAYANAN, S. (MSU) 6-4
3. GOMIS, Jorge/PETRALIA, Noah (LWUM) def. RAMAKRISHNAN, A./KRUSINSKI, Lucas (MSU) 7-5
Match Notes
Morgan State 2-9
Longwood 9-2
Order of Finish
Doubles: 1, 2, 3
Singles: 3, 4, 5
#GoWood
