Longwood University Athletics

FARMVILLE, Va. – In a Big South rivalry showdown, Radford pulled away with a near-sweep in singles play to take down Longwood 6-1 and avenge back-to-back series losses Friday afternoon at Lancer Courts.
 
Playing their second match in three days, the Lancers (4-5, 0-4 Big South) could not keep up with a surging Radford squad that has now won three of its past four matches. The loss marked the first time this season that the Lancers have dropped three consecutive matches and achieved vengeance for a Radford team that Longwood edged 4-3 twice last season.
 
Sparked by a pair of doubles wins, including a 6-4 victory by the duo of Drousile Dzeubou and Lotti Meszaros at No. 2, the Highlanders (7-6, 1-1 Big South) overcame Longwood freshman Tanja Skalda's opening straight-set singles wins and rolled to five straight singles wins to lock up the win. Longwood forced Radford to three sets in three of those bouts, including at No. 1 where ace Marija Venta fell in a third-set tiebreak to Radford No. 1 Drousile Dzeubou.
 
Skalda provided the lone singles win for the Lancers, taking down Radford freshman Zoe Fraser in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2, at the No. 5 slot. That win was the latest in a strong start to Skalda's inaugural season and improved her record to 5-2 this spring, tops on Longwood's young squad.
 
Skalda was also part of a Lancer doubles victory at the No. 3 slot, teaming up with sophomore teammate Jamie Breunig for the first time this season to knock off Radford's Jeanie Acierto and Zoe Fraser 7-5. It was the first pairing this season for the freshman Skalda and sophomore Breunig, who teamed up after second-year head coach Maria Lopez shook up the doubles rotation Friday.
 
The Lancers will have a chance to avenge Friday's loss in short order, returning to their home court again Saturday for a 2 p.m. matchup against North Carolina A&T. That showdown will be part of a men's and women's doubleheader against the Aggies, following the Longwood men's team's opener at noon.
 
Radford 6, Longwood 1
Mar 16, 2018 at Farmville, Va. (Lancer Courts)
 
Singles competition
1. DZEUBOU, Drousile (RAD) def. VENTA, Marija (LWUW) 6-7, 6-1, 6-5
2. SAYER, Natalie (RAD) def. ALMIRON, Yulia (LWUW) 6-1, 6-7, 10-7
3. MESZAROS, Lotti (RAD) def. BREUNIG, Jamie (LWUW) 6-4, 6-2
4. BLALOCK, Tyler (RAD) def. TERUNUMA, Kaori (LWUW) 6-2, 6-3
5. SKALDA, Tanja (LWUW) def. FRASER, Zoe (RAD) 6-4, 6-2
6. ACIERTO, Jeanie (RAD) def. CANDIOTTO, Julia (LWUW) 1-6, 6-1, 10-3
 
Doubles competition
1. SAYER, Natalie/BLALOCK, Tyler (RAD) def. ALMIRON, Yulia/TERUNUMA, Kaori (LWUW) 6-0
2. DZEUBOU, Drousile/MESZAROS, Lotti (RAD) def. VENTA, Marija/CANDIOTTO, Julia (LWUW) 6-4
3. SKALDA, Tanja/BREUNIG, Jamie (LWUW) def. FRASER, Zoe/ACIERTO, Jeanie (RAD) 7-5
 
Match Notes
Radford 7-6, 1-1
Longwood 4-5, 0-4
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (5,3,4,1,2,6)
 
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