RADFORD, Va. – After the season Longwood men's tennis has enjoyed in 2017, it's only fitting that a new program record for single season wins was set on the last day of the regular season in a 4-3 thriller over Big South rival Radford Wednesday afternoon.

Freshman Noah Petralia's straight-set 6-2, 6-3 win at court six clinched the match for Longwood's (14-5, 4-3 Big South) 14th win, breaking the previous program record of 13 set in the 1998-99 season.

Wednesday's win also broke the program record for single season winning percentage of .667 - now at .737 - when the team went 10-5 overall in the 1994-95 season.

The Lancers' fourth Big South win of the season was also a program-best as all four of their triumphs came in 4-3 fashion, three coming on the road at Liberty, Winthrop and Radford.

Longwood found the scoreboard first with a 1-0 lead after taking courts one and two in doubles play by 6-3, 6-2 scores, providing what turned out to be the match-deciding tally. The duo of Florian Uffer and Amadeo Blasco continued their winning ways, picking up their 15th victory of the season and fifth consecutive to end the regular season.

"What we worked on in doubles paid off and allowed us to perform much better," said second-year head coach Pierre Tafelski, who has navigated the Lancers to new heights during the 2017 campaign. "We battled well and made our opponents work a lot."

After the Lancers took the doubles win, senior captain Florian Uffer pushed the Lancer lead to 2-0 with a quick 6-1, 6-3 win at court two, and set a new personal record for wins with 12 this spring.

The Highlanders answered Longwood's two points with two singles wins of their own at courts four and five, both coming in two-set fashion. Radford's Robin Calais took down Julian Farthing 6-3, 6-1 and Janken Thoen captured a 6-2, 6-3 win at court five against Jorge Gomis to tie the match at two points apiece.

Freshman Amadeo Blasco, who collected his 16th win of the spring to tie the all-time record for wins to start a career, showcased his ace status and gave the Lancers the push they needed to prevail with a 6-4, 6-2 triumph and a 3-2 lead. Blasco's win was also his third-consecutive victory and sixth at the top of the rotation, and set the stage for Petralia's match-clincher.

Radford recorded the final tally of the day with Samuel Taylor's three-set comeback over Arthur Bardellotto at court three, but it was for naught as the Lancers had already clinched at that point.

With the 4-3 thriller, Longwood currently sits fourth in the Big South standings heading into the Big South Championships next Wednesday at Wake Forest. The win also guarantees the Lancers a four seed in the tournament. The four seed is the program's highest of their five-year history in the Big South Conference dating back to the 2012-13 season.

"It is now time to focus on the conference tournament and use the next few days to keep making adjustments," Tafelski said. "We are in a great place and very excited to go compete there."

Longwood will play the five seed in the Big South Quarterfinals on Wednesday, April 19 at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex. Match time is set for 12 p.m. from Winston-Salem, N.C.

Longwood 4, Radford 3
April 12, 2017 at Radford, Va. (Radford Tennis Complex)
 
Singles competition
1. BLASCO, Amadeo (LWUM) def. MAGALHAES, Rodrigo (RAD) 6-4, 6-2
2. UFFER, Florian (LWUM) def. CALDWELL, Alexandros (RAD) 6-2, 6-3
3. TAYLOR, Samuel (RAD) def. BARDELLOTO, Arthur (LWUM) 1-6, 6-4, 6-3
4. CALAIS, Robin (RAD) def. FARTHING, Julian (LWUM) 6-2, 6-1
5. THOEN, Janken (RAD) def. GOMIS, Jorge (LWUM) 6-3, 6-2
6. PETRALIA, Noah (LWUM) def. VARGA, Matko (RAD) 6-2, 6-3
 
Doubles competition
1. BLASCO, Amadeo/UFFER, Florian (LWUM) def. MAGALHAES, Rodrigo/VARGA, Matko (RAD) 6-3
2. BARDELLOTO, Arthur/FARTHING, Julian (LWUM) def. CALDWELL, Alexandros/CALAIS, Robin (RAD) 6-2
3. THOEN, Janken/TAYLOR, Samuel (RAD) def. GOMIS, Jorge/PETRALIA, Noah (LWUM) 6-3
 
Match Notes
Longwood 13-5 (3-3 BSC)
Radford 6-13 (3-3 BSC)
 
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (2,5,4,1,6,3)

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