FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – Less than 24 hours after collecting their first win of the Jhonnatan Medina Alvarez era, Longwood men's tennis dispatched Howard 7-0 for program win No. 250 in a neutral site affair Sunday.

Sunday's milestone win came against the same Howard men's tennis program that Longwood defeated on April 9, 2011 for program win No. 200 just under seven seasons ago.

After falling in doubles play to a stout Mary Washington squad Saturday, the Lancers came out of the gates swinging behind a 6-4 win at court No. 1 from Amadeo Blasco/Julian Farthing and a 6-3 clinch by Jorge Godoy/Valentin Popescu on court No. 2.

"It was an important match, especially after yesterday when we lost the doubles point. We made a few changes to the lineup and we were able to review our match and show the guys what they needed to work on," said first-year head coach Jhonnatan Medina Alvarez. "I was excited at how they were all trying new things and getting out of their comfort zone - mostly getting more aggressive at the net and playing with more adaptation instead of just reaction. That was exciting to see."

The doubles victories were the first for the tandem of Blasco and Farthing while Godoy and Popescu collected their fourth win as a pair.

Longwood carried the doubles momentum into singles action turning in five sweeps on all five courts from Blasco, Popescu, Raisei Sakai, Farthing and Daniel Hernandez.

"We stuck with the same lineup as yesterday and everybody played really well," Medina Alvarez said. "I'm excited for them and happy for them. It was our first road trip and we were able to get two matches against good teams."

Hernandez, who won five matches during the fall campaign, took home his first dual victory as a Lancer behind a strong 6-2, 6-3 showing on court No. 5 over counterpart Benjamin Tyus while all four Lancers on courts one through four collected their second wins of the weekend.

A 20-match winner last season, Blasco's 2-1 start this season brings his 2017-18 record to 15-3 after deep runs through each fall tournament. Blasco was able to make quick work of his Bison counterpart by a 6-0, 6-0 margin to complete the strong weekend.

Meanwhile, Popescu avoided a full-set match by shutting down Cole Gittens 6-3, 7-5 at court No. 2 and Farthing rolled past Sagar Raju 6-0, 6-1 in a near-perfect scoreline. Both Popescu and Farthing remain undefeated in dual matches this season with a combined 5-0 record through three matches.

Riding a five-match win streak after Saturday, Farthing extended his run to six-straight heading into next weekend's invitational.

The Lancers look to keep the recent momentum rolling as they head to Greeneville, N.C. next weekend where future Big South foe Hampton awaits Saturday before a date with host East Carolina Sunday. The Lancers follow the East Carolina Invitational with matchups against CAA power UNCW and former Big South rival Coastal Carolina.

Longwood 7, Howard 0
Feb. 4, 2018
Fredericksburg, Va.

Singles:
1. Amadeo Blasco (LWU) def. Karim Shokeir (HU) 6-0, 6-0
2. Valentin Popescu 9LWU) def. Cole Gittens (HU) 6-3, 7-5
3. Raisei Sakai (LWU) def. Devaughn Blackburn (HU) 6-1, 6-3
4. Julian Farthing (LWU) def. Sagar Raju (HU) 6-0, 6-1
5. Daniel Hernandez (LWU) def. Benjamin Tyus (HU) 6-2, 6-3
6, Jorge Godoy W by def.

Doubles:
1. Amadeo Blasco/Julian Farthing (LWU) def. Shokeir/Raju (HU) 6-4
2. Jorge Godoy/Valentin Popescu (LWU) def. Gittens/Blackburn (HU) 6-3
3. Daniel Hernandez/Raisei Sakai (LWU) W by def.

#GoWood