FARMVILLE, Va. – Located in the heart of Longwood University campus, Longwood men's tennis has turned the Lancer Courts into one of the toughest venues in the Big South.
 
Extending what has become a 6-1 homestand over the past three weeks, Longwood (9-7, 2-3 Big South) asserted its home-court dominance once again Sunday by taking down Big South rival Radford 4-3 to come within one victory of reaching double-digit wins for the second straight year.
 
Now 6-2 at home, the surging Lancers have used that home-court advantage to become only the third Big South team to reach nine wins this season and only the third Longwood team in the program's Division I era to hit that mark before the end of March. Of those nine victories in 2018, six have come during a March in which the Lancers are 6-2 following Sunday's win over the rival Highlanders.
 
The latest of those victories came in bounce-back fashion over Radford (8-6, 0-3), as the Lancers shook off a doubles-point loss and rattled off four consecutive singles wins to clinch their second victory in as many days.
 
"We really benefit from the home-court setting," said junior Julian Farthing, whose three-set victory over Michiel Meekers at the No. 4 slot clinched Sunday's win.
 
"The atmosphere here is always great. We really get a lot out of having so many of our fellow athletes and students out here behind us."
 
Farthing's victory was his seventh straight and made him a perfect 8-0 at home, 19-8 overall and 4-1 in conference play this season. His latest win was a comeback in its own right, as the London, England, native overcame a first-set loss to roll Meekers 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.
 
Farthing's match-clinching singles victory gave the Lancers their second win in 24 hours, following Saturday's 4-3 barnburner against Commonwealth rival James Madison.
 
"What a great day for the men's tennis," said Longwood first-year head coach Jhonnatan Medina-Alvarez. "I'm really happy we were able to pull it off even though we lost the doubles point, and I want to thank [women's tennis head coach Maria Lopez] for her help today and for what she's done for us all season.
 
"I still believe that the team knows what we need to do in doubles, but we're still waiting on the other team to make a mistake instead of going out and getting it. We have to be more aggressive in our approach when it comes to finishing our points."
 
After opening the spring 3-5 under Medina-Alvarez, the Lancers have emerged as one of the hottest teams in the Big South, winning six of their past seven matches to climb from the Big South cellar into fifth place. That turnaround has come as the Lancers have settled in with Medina-Alvarez, who took over the program in December.
 
"We're a really well-connected group, all part of the same unit," Farthing said. "A lot of people look at tennis and think it's an individual sport, which it is to a degree, but we really do work as a team. Coach always preaches the value of playing as a team, that type of camaraderie. We play for each other. If we see somebody really low, we rally around that person. We all know that if we're not playing our best or not putting up our best effort, it negatively affects the guys around you."
 
That team-wide effort was on display Sunday. After Radford won two of three doubles matches to claim the doubles point and a 1-0 lead, freshman Jorge Godoy gave Longwood a spark with a 6-3, 6-1 singles win over Carlos Sala at the No. 5 slot that knotted the score at 1-1. Godoy's freshman classmate  Raisei Sakai followed suit, taking down his No. 3 Radford counterpart Matko Varga 6-3, 6-1 to give the Lancers a 2-1 lead.
 
From there, Longwood freshman Valentin Popescu followed his fellow freshmen with a straight-sets win of his own, grinding out a 7-5, 7-5 win over Radford No. 2 Alexandros Caldwell.
 
That set the stage for Farthing's clincher and raucous celebration from his teammates and the home Lancer crowd.
 
"Great job from the bottom line," Medina-Alvarez said. " Jorge and Julian and Sakai did a great job today. Amadeo had a great match, lost in his third set 7-6, but I think the team's beginning to believe that every line can be won."
 
Radford bounced back with wins at the No. 1 and No. 6 positions to close out the match, but the final score stood in Longwood's favor.
 
The biggest takeaway for the Highlanders came at the No. 1 slot where Rodrigo Magalhaes edged Lancer ace and reigning Big South Freshman of the Year Amadeo Blasco 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 to hand the Lancer sophomore sensation his first conference loss of the season. The loss also snapped an eight-match win streak for Longwood's single-season wins leader, whose singles record remains a program-best 25-5 this season.
 
"I'm proud of the guys – they're putting in hard work and dedication, and they're fighting for every ball," Medina-Alvarez said. "That's all I can ask as a coach. I can only say great things about them today, but we still have room for improvement. Hopefully as we get closer to the tournament, we can fix the things we need to fix and be solid in doubles."
 
Now one win away from reaching double-digit wins for the second straight year, the Lancers hit the road later this week for a pair of conference showdowns at Presbyterian on Friday, March 30, and at UNC Asheville Saturday. Following those two road games, Longwood will conclude the regular season with a three-match non-conference homestand against N.C. Central, Belmont Abbey and Norfolk State on April 6-8.
 
Longwood 4, Radford 3
3/25/2018 at Farmville, Va. (Lancer Courts)
 
Singles competition
1. MAGALHAES, Rodrigo (RAD) def. BLASCO, Amadeo (LWUM) 3-6, 7-5, 7-6
2. POPESCU, Valentin (LWUM) def. CALDWELL, Alexandros (RAD) 7-5, 7-5
3. SAKAI, Raisei (LWUM) def. VARGA, Matko (RAD) 6-3, 6-1
4. FARTHING, Julian (LWUM) def. MEEKERS, Michiel (RAD) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
5. GODOY, Jorge (LWUM) def. SALA, Carlos (RAD) 6-2, 6-1
6. CALAIS, Robin (RAD) def. NAYDENOV, Rosen (LWUM) 6-2, 6-3
 
Doubles competition
1. MAGALHAES, Rodrigo/CALDWELL, Alexandros (RAD) def. BLASCO, Amadeo/SAKAI, Raisei (LWUM) 7-5
2. MEEKERS, Michiel/CALAIS, Robin (RAD) def. FARTHING, Julian/MANSER, Lachlan (LWUM) 6-2
3. GODOY, Jorge/POPESCU, Valentin (LWUM) def. SALA, Carlos/VARGA, Matko (RAD) 6-1
 
Match Notes
Radford 8-6, 0-3
Longwood 9-7, 2-3
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (5,3,2,4,1,6)
 
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