Longwood University Athletics

HAMPTON, Va. – It took more than a day and 250 miles of travel, but Longwood women's tennis finished off a 4-3 dramatic road win against future Big South foe Hampton more than 24 hours after it began Saturday afternoon at Neilson-Screen Stadium.
 
Longwood freshman Tanja Skalda pulled out the match-clinching singles victory 3-6, 7-5, 7-5, after her third set against Haley Mullins on Hampton's home court was halted in the third set Friday afternoon due to rain.
 
The Lancers were unable to conclude the match Friday due the inclement weather and their scheduled follow-up match against UMES in Princess Anne, Md., Saturday at 11 a.m., forcing them to return to Hampton Saturday afternoon so Skalda and Hampton's Haley Mullins could decide the outcome of the delayed showdown. However, it was Longwood's wins leader Skalda who came out on top, finishing off the third-set win to clinch a come-from-behind team victory in which Longwood stunned Hampton (3-5) by winning four consecutive singles bouts to overcome a 3-0 deficit.
 
The win was the second of the day for the Lancers, who routed UMES 6-1 in Princess Anne, Md., Saturday morning before making the trek back to Hampton so that Skalda could polish off her match-clinching singles win. Longwood is now back at .500 on the year and improves to 7-1 in non-conference play.
 
The Hampton win saw Skalda's clincher punctuate a dramatic comeback in which the Lancers, who played shorthanded with just five players, dropped the doubles point, gave up another by default at the No. 6 singles position, and fell 6-1, 6-0 at the No. 2 singles position to fall into a 3-0 hole. However, Longwood freshman Yulia Almiron responded by sweeping Mariam Mitaishvili 6-4, 6-2 at the No. 1 slot, which set in motion a string of four consecutive singles wins that drove the Lancers to their third straight non-conference win.
 
Longwood sophomore Jamie Breunig followed Almiron's victory with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Cherise Slocombe, and Kaori Terunuma took down Hampton No. 4 Anastasiia Romanova 6-2, 7-6 (10-2) to knot the score at 3-3.
 
Skalda, who is now a team-best 9-3 in singles play this spring, then bounced back from a first-set loss to tie the match with a 7-5 win in set two. Skalda kept that momentum going by climbing to a 5-4 lead in the decisive third set before the rain came and put the match on hold.
 
Skalda, just over 24 hours later, finished off that win en route to her second singles win of the day.
 
The victory comes in Longwood's final road match of the regular season, as the Lancers will begin a five-match homestand this Tuesday, April 3, against Big South rival Liberty.
 
Longwood 4, Hampton 3
Mar 30, 2018 at Hampton, Va. (Neilson-Screen Stadium)
 
Singles competition
1. ALMIRON, Yulia (LWUW) def. MITAISHVILI, Mariam (HAM-W) 6-4, 6-2
2. KAPITANOVA, Yulia (HAM-W) def. VENTA, Marija (LWUW) 6-1, 6-0
3. BREUNIG, Jamie (LWUW) def. SLOCOMBE, Cherise (HAM-W) 6-3, 7-5
4. TERUNUMA, Kaori (LWUW) def. ROMANOVA, Ana (HAM-W) 6-2, 7-6 (7-2)
5. SKALDA, Tanja (LWUW) def. MULLINS, Haley (HAM-W) 3-6, 7-5, 7-5
6. D'AUVERGNE, Julia (HAM-W) def. No player (LWUW), by default
 
Doubles competition
1. MITAISHVILI, Mariam/KAPITANOVA, Yulia (HAM-W) def. VENTA, Marija/TERUNUMA, Kaori (LWUW) 6-4
2. SLOCOMBE, Cherise/TURNER, Kiah (HAM-W) def. ALMIRON, Yulia/BREUNIG, Jamie (LWUW) 6-3
3. MULLINS, Haley/ROMANOVA, Ana (HAM-W) def. No player/No player (LWUW), by default
 
Match Notes
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (2,1,3,4,5)
Match finished on 3/31 due to rain - stopped with Longwood leading 5-4 in 3rd set
 
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