FARMVILLE, Va. – First-year Longwood men's tennis head coach Jhonnatan Medina Alvarez challenged his team to finish conference matches when they got the opportunity.

Longwood heard the message loud and clear.

Just 24 hours after locking down Division II power West Virginia Wesleyan, Longwood (6-6, 1-2 Big South) returned to Lancer Courts to etch another milestone in what has become a record book littered with recent accomplishments thanks to a 5-2 victory over Gardner-Webb. Saturday's win became the first over the Runnin' Bulldogs (6-11, 0-4 Big South) since Longwood joined the Big South and first since the 2009 season as a Division I Independent.

"Last night, we were going back-and-forth, talking about how we need to do things differently," said head coach Jhonnatan Medina Alvarez, who collected his first Big South win as a head coach. "We were getting close in each conference match and I wanted them to know that the time was now. I thought we were ready today."

"I can't tell you how extremely proud I am of each and every player. They were able to overcome the adversity of almost losing the doubles point," Medina Alvarez said. "We came out with this new team phrase – 'give nothing and take everything.' I could see it in their faces. It was just amazing to sit down and see a bunch of kids becoming that team I knew they could always become. I have nothing but great things to say about them."

Longwood's triumph over Gardner-Webb was the first Big South win under Medina Alvarez as well as the second loss in as many days for the Runnin' Bulldogs inside conference play.

In the same fashion as Friday's doubles victory, the Lancers took two of three courts including a tiebreak at the top of the lineup by Amadeo Blasco/Raisei Sakai 7-6 (7-2) on Blasco's match-sealing ace.

Entering the weekend with a career-high 21 singles wins, Blasco inched closer to the programs all-time single-season wins record thanks to a straight-set 7-5, 7-6 victory at the top of the lineup, sealing the Lancer victory 4-1 at the time.

"We still have room for improvement, but now is a time to celebrate the hard work and dedication, and everything I've thrown at them. It takes hard work to compete against anybody and the desire to strive for greatness," Medina Alvarez said.

Blasco keeps soaring up the all-time wins list and single-season wins list in just his second collegiate season. He sits alone in ninth-place passing former doubles teammate and last season's captain Florian Uffer with 41 career wins.

Blasco extended his win streak to five-straight, his longest run since a nine-match stretch during the fall season.

Also on that all-time wins list is junior London, England native Julian Farthing, who extended his win streak to three with a pair of 6-1 wins on court No. 4, pushing the Lancer margin to 2-0 at the time. Farthing's 15th victory this season keeps him in fifth-place on the all-time wins list with 50, just three shy of moving into a tie for third.

Gardner-Webb got on the board at court two making it a 2-1 Lancer lead behind two-time reigning Big South Freshman of the Week Millen Hurrion's 6-3, 6-2 victory over Longwood freshman Raisei Sakai.

However, Longwood extended their stranglehold behind a Valentin Popescu 6-4, 6-4 win on court three before Blasco's victory sealed the historic triumph.

Freshman Daniel Hernandez, who enjoyed a straight-set victory Friday, collected the Lancers' final tally of the day at court No. 6 in a 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (10-6) three-set fashion as both he and Popescu picked up their first Big South wins as Lancers.

The Runnin' Bulldogs got back within two at 4-2 behind a 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 victory at court five from Adam Schmidt, but it was too-little, too-late as Hernandez' victory ended the match in a 5-2 Lancer margin.

"I would like to thank [sports performance coach] C.J. Roth, [athletic trainer] Ian Walker and Coach Maria Lopez for being there today. Our appreciation for everyone that came out and supported us can't be overstated," Medina Alvarez said. "We look forward to adding wins and to be able to make history. That's the reason why I came here, I wanted to put Longwood tennis on the map. I'm just excited and happy for the team and congrats to Longwood. We look forward to keeping this momentum going."

The Lancers get a week-long break before hosting MEAC foe North Carolina A&T Saturday, March 17 and Big South rival March 18. Sunday's conference clash with Winthrop will be a rematch of last season's Big South quarterfinals in which the Eagles avenged the regular season defeat with a 4-1 decision to end the Lancers' monumental 2017 run.

First serve between the Lancers and Aggies is set for 2 p.m. from Lancer Courts.

Longwood 5, Gardner-Webb 2
March 10, 2018 at Farmville, Va. (Lancer Courts) 

Singles:
1. BLASCO, Amadeo (LWUM) def. SCHOLL, Maximilian (GWU18M) 7-5, 7-6
2. HURRION, Millen (GWU18M) def. SAKAI, Raisei (LWUM) 6-3, 6-2
3. POPESCU, Valentin (LWUM) def. HOGAN, Paul (GWU18M) 6-4, 6-4
4. FARTHING, Julian (LWUM) def. PUGA, Stefano (GWU18M) 6-1, 6-1
5. SCHMIDT, Adam (GWU18M) def. GODOY, Jorge (LWUM) 6-3, 3-6, 7-6
6. HERNANDEZ, Daniel (LWUM) def. PLENTZ, Breno (GWU18M) 6-3, 4-6, 1-0 (10-6)

Doubles:
1. Blasco/Sakai (LWU) def. Scholl/Hurrion (GWU) 7-6 (7-2)
2. Popescu/Godoy (LWU) def. Hogan/Fors (GWU) 6-0
3. Gilbert/Plentz (GWU) def. Farthing/Hernandez (LWU) 6-3

Match Notes:
Gardner-Webb: 6-6 (0-4 Big South)
Longwood: 6-6 (1-2 Big South)

Order of Finish:
Doubles – 2, 3, 1; Singles – 4, 2, 3, 1, 5, 6

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