FARMVILLE, Va. – After dropping the first doubles court, Longwood men's tennis buckled down with two wins on courts two and three as well as straight-set wins on each singles court to sweep away West Virginia Wesleyan 7-0 Friday morning from a balmy Lancer Courts.

Led by doubles wins from Jorge Godoy/Valentin Popescu and Julian Farthing/Daniel Hernandez, Longwood (5-6) jumped out to the early 1-0 lead, one they would strengthen throughout the morning for their second straight home win.

"I thought the team did well overall. Singles wise, we took care of business," said first-year head coach Jhonnatan Medina Alvarez. "In doubles, we were erratic. Last time we played, we were able to beat them by such a wide margin. We have to be more respectful of our opponents and be open-minded to changes, no matter what level our opponent. In the end, we were able to pull it out."

Sophomore ace Amadeo Blasco took that momentum generated from doubles play and turned in a pair of 6-1 wins over counterpart Lukas Laipold. Blasco's takedown at the top of the lineup was his 21st singles victory this season, surpassing his previous career-best 20 set during last season's impressive collegiate debut. Blasco also inched closer to the all-time single-season wins list Friday as he now sits two victories from tying the mark of 23, and three victories shy of breaking it.

After reaching the 10-win mark in Sunday's rout of George Mason, freshman Raisei Sakai kept the momentum flowing with a strong 6-3, 6-0 decision at court No. 2 – the second of six sweeps in singles play.

Riding the high from a three-set comeback Sunday, freshman lefty Valentin Popescu battled for a 7-6 first-set win before putting the clamps on Ramon Rodriguez with a 6-4 second-set, match-clinching victory.

Julian Farthing, who collected two wins last week, took a pair of 6-2 decisions on court four for his 14th win of the season – good for second on the team behind only Blasco. Just like Blasco, Farthing keeps climbing the all-time singles wins leaderboard as he enters the weekend with 49 career wins. Farthing now stands alone in fourth-place behind only Nobu Tanaka, Brandon Lindsley and Rashko Patnikov.

Over on court five, senior Jorge Godoy collected his 12^th singles win as he handled his Bobcat counterpart 6-3, 6-3, effectively sealing the Lancer victory and pushing the lead to 4-0 at the time. Godoy also matched his personal-best 12-win mark set last season.

Meanwhile, freshman Daniel Hernandez ended the triumphant morning with two 6-4 wins on court No. 6. Hernandez' victory pushes him to eight on the season, leaving him just two wins shy of joining Blasco, Sakai, Popescu, Farthing and Godoy in the 10-win party.

Longwood returns to action Saturday morning as Big South foe Gardner-Webb comes to town for an 11 a.m. affair.

"For tomorrow's conference match, I would love for our guys to show that passion we have when we're training," Medina Alvarez said. "I don't want to be that team that trains really well, but can't close out wins. I want them to know that sometimes you have to step out and face your fears and play to the benefit of the team. We have an early start at 11 a.m., but we'll make it happen."

Longwood 7, West Virginia Wesleyan 0
March 09, 2018 at Farmville, Va. (Lancer Courts) 

Singles competition

1. BLASCO, Amadeo (LWUM) def. LAIPOLD, Lukas (WVW) 6-1, 6-1

2. SAKAI, Raisei (LWUM) def. SANTOS DIAZ, Maycon (WVW) 6-3, 6-0

3. POPESCU, Valentin (LWUM) def. RODRIGUEZ, Ramon (WVW) 7-6, 6-4

4. FARTHING, Julian (LWUM) def. GEBRE, Yonas (WVW) 6-2, 6-2

5. GODOY, Jorge (LWUM) def. LYUDINOVSKY, A. (WVW) 6-3, 6-3

6. HERNANDEZ, Daniel (LWUM) def. SIMAIOFORIDIS, Harry (WVW) 6-4, 6-4

 

Doubles competition

1. GEBRE, Yonas/SANTOS DIAZ, Maycon (WVW) def. BLASCO, Amadeo/SAKAI, Raisei (LWUM) 6-2

2. GODOY, Jorge/POPESCU, Valentin (LWUM) def. RODRIGUEZ, Ramon/SIMAIOFORIDIS, Harry (WVW) 6-4

3. HERNANDEZ, Daniel/FARTHING, Julian (LWUM) def. LAIPOLD, Lukas/MCINTOSH, Thomas (WVW) 6-2

 

Match Notes

West Virginia Wesleyan 4-2; Regional ranking #2

Longwood 5-6

Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (1,4,2,5,3,6)

#GoWood