RADFORD, Va. – The Longwood women's tennis team extended their win streak to a season-high three and picked up first-year head coach Maria Lopez's first career Big South win, 4-3 over rival Radford.

A day after picking up her sixth win of the season, senior Anna Pelak clinched the Lancers' first conference win under Lopez, who came to Longwood after spending the previous six seasons as an assistant coach at Division II power Barry University.

Pelak's 7-6 (7-2), 7-5 triumph at court three was the final tally the Lancers collected and served as the decisive fourth point after taking the early 1-0 lead with two doubles wins. Pelak has won back-to-back matches and is 6-3 over her past nine matches with one final regular season match left in her Longwood career.

"We came out strong in doubles early on," Lopez said. "It was a good battle against Radford at their place."

Longwood got the day rolling with a comeback in doubles play, taking courts two and three after dropping court one. The tandem of Pelak and Mason Thomas kept their hot-streak rolling with an impressive eighth-straight win and 13th overall doubles win of the 2017 season.

Pelak and Thomas' 6-1 conquest picked up the first of Longwood's two doubles wins, as the duo of Paloma Alatorre and Marija Venta finished the Lancer comeback in 6-2 fashion, their third-straight win at court two.

Just as the case was Saturday, the three seniors in Alatorre, Pelak and Thomas each picked up singles victories at courts three-through-five to fuel the victory and end the weekend 2-0.

"The leadership from the seniors showed out there today," Lopez said.

Alatorre cruised past her counterpart 6-2, 6-2 for a third-consecutive victory, while Thomas made quick work of Karlie Pope 6-3, 6-2 to push her win streak to eight-straight matches. Thomas' win pushed her to a perfect 6-0 at court five, inching her closer to the 50 win mark in her career.

The three singles wins from the seniors were exactly what the Lancers needed to pull out the road win after taking the doubles point and 1-0 lead into singles play. Sunday's victory was the second-consecutive season Longwood has bested the Highlanders in the regular season, doing so by a 4-3 margin last season in Farmville, Va.

Radford collected all three points in singles play with wins at courts one, two and six, but couldn't mount enough for the comeback.

The blue and white get a full five days off before hosting undefeated and first-place Charleston Southern on Saturday in a match that was postponed earlier this season due to weather. Match time against the Buccaneers is set for 11 a.m. from the Hampden-Sydney Tennis Courts.

Longwood 4, Radford 3
04-09-17 at Radford, Va. (Radford Tennis Complex)
 
Singles competition
1. DZEUBOU, Drousile (RAD) def. VENTA, Marija (LWU) 7-6, 6-3
2. SAYER, Natalie (RAD) def. BREUNIG, Jamie (LWU) 6-1, 6-4
3. PELAK, Anna (LWU) def. NGUYEN, Claire (RAD) 7-6 (2-7), 7-5
4. ALATORRE, Paloma (LWU) def. MARTIN, Meili (RAD) 6-2, 6-2
5. THOMAS, Mason (LWU) def. POPE, Karlie (RAD) 6-3, 6-2
6. POPOVA, Yuliia (RAD) def. BURGER, Fallon (LWU) 6-0, 6-3
 
Doubles competition
1. SAYER, Natalie/MARTIN, Meili (RAD) def. BREUNIG, Jamie/BURGER, Fallon (LWU) 6-1
2. ALATORRE, Paloma/VENTA, Marija (LWU) def. DZEUBOU, Drousile/NGUYEN, Claire (RAD) 6-2
3. PELAK, Anna/THOMAS, Mason (LWU) def. POPE, Karlie/POPOVA, Yuliia (RAD) 6-1
 
Match Notes
Longwood 6-12 (1-6 BSC)
Radford 6-12 (0-7 BSC)
 
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (2,6,4,5,3,1)
Official: Paula William T-2.45 Hrs A-11
 
#GoWood