Longwood University Athletics

FARMVILLE, Va. – Red-hot Winthrop maintained its hold on the top spot in the Big South women's tennis standings by dispatching Longwood 7-0 and spoiling the Lancers' home opener Wednesday afternoon at Lancer Courts.
 
The Big South preseason favorite and 19-time Big South Champion Eagles (9-3, 3-0 Big South) ran through Longwood's newcomer-laden roster en route to their ninth win in the past 10 matches. The victory keeps them atop the Big South alongside Charleston Southern with a 3-0 conference record.
 
The lone Lancer to break through Wednesday against the Eagles was sophomore Jamie Breunig, who stormed out to a first-set win over Tayla Van Eck. However, Van Eck bounced back to pull out a marathon second-set tiebreak and then took the match in another battle of a third set, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 10-8.
 
The loss disrupted a hot streak of their own for the Lancers (4-4, 0-3 Big South), who entered the match winners of two of their past three matches as part of the best six-match start in the program's Division I era.
 
"I think there are definitely a couple positions where we're competing extremely well consistently, and there are a couple positions where we're not doing that," said Longwood second-year head coach Maria Lopez. "In order to put pressure on teams that have consistently won and are at the top of our conference, we need to be disciplined in all spots. That's something we've put as a priority for our team, but unfortunately, we're still not where we need to be as far as making those decisions one through six."
 
Winthrop, which boasts Big South wins leaders in four of the six singles positions, earned five straight-sets singles victories against a Longwood roster that features two sophomores and five freshmen. Longwood's sophomore ace Marija Venta fell 6-1, 6-1 to Alisa Soloveva at the No. 1 slot, and freshman No. 2 Yulia Almiron suffered a 6-1, 6-4 setback to Megan Kauffman.
 
Longwood freshman Kaori Terunuma nearly pulled out a second-set win over her No. 4 counterpart Aida Kelic but fell in the tiebreak, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2).
 
Winthrop's No. 5 Alya Mourad handed Lancer freshman Tanja Skalda only her second loss of the spring, 6-2, 6-1 to drop her singles record to 4-2 in her first season.
 
Wednesday's loss comes in the first of three straight home matches for the Lancers, who resume their homestand this Friday, March 16, with a 2 p.m. rivalry showdown against Big South foe Radford at Lancer Courts. The next home match follows just 24 hours later when North Carolina A&T comes to town for a 2 p.m. first serve.
 
Winthrop 7, Longwood 0
Mar 14, 2018 at Farmville, Va. (Lancer Courts)
 
Singles competition
1. SOLOVEVA, Alisa (WIN) def. VENTA, Marija (LWUW) 6-1, 6-1
2. KAUFFMAN, Megan (WIN) def. ALMIRON, Yulia (LWUW) 6-1, 6-4
3. VAN ECK, Tayla (WIN) def. BREUNIG, Jamie (LWUW) 4-6, 7-6 (7-4), 10-8
4. KELIC, Aida (WIN) def. TERUNUMA, Kaori (LWUW) 6-3, 7-6 (7-2)
5. MOURAD, Alya (WIN) def. SKALDA, Tanja (LWUW) 6-2, 6-1
6. BURNS, Ellie (WIN) def. CANDIOTTO, Julia (LWUW) 6-1, 6-1
 
Doubles competition
1. SOLOVEVA, Alisa/KAUFFMAN, Megan (WIN) def. VENTA, Marija/BREUNIG, Jamie (LWUW) 6-1
2. BURNS, Ellie/VAN ECK, Tayla (WIN) def. ALMIRON, Yulia/TERUNUMA, Kaori (LWUW) 6-2
3. KELIC, Aida/MOURAD, Alya (WIN) def. SKALDA, Tanja/CANDIOTTO, Julia (LWUW) 6-1
 
Match Notes
Winthrop 9-3, 3-0
Longwood 4-4, 0-3
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (1,5,2,6,3,4)
 
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