FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood women's tennis put the mercy rule into effect, storming out to a 4-0 lead and winning the final three matches by default en route to a 7-0 win over Norfolk State Sunday afternoon at Lancer Courts.
 
The Lancers (8-8) swept the doubles point and then pulled off three straight singles wins to clinch before Norfolk State called the match early and turned over the remaining three singles matches by default.
 
Prior to the premature finish, Longwood was en route to taking all six singles matches from the Spartans (2-7) in straight sets.
 
"I was extremely pleased with how we played doubles today," said Longwood head coach Maria Lopez, who has guided the Lancers to three wins in their past four matches.
 
"We have been putting a lot of emphasis on defining how we want to come out and compete. They were all on the same page out there today, making adjustments and finding a way to be more disciplined during important moments."
 
Longwood took care of the doubles point in dominant fashion, combining to drop just two games overall as the duos of Marija Venta and Kaori Terunuma, and Tanja Skalda and Julia Candiotto posted matching 6-0 wins at Nos. 1 and 3 in their opening bouts. The No. 2 duo of Jamie Breunig and Yulia Almiron followed with a 6-2 win to complete Longwood's first doubles sweep since March 6 against Savannah State.
 
The Lancers carried that momentum into singles play where Skalda and Candiotto posted a pair of 6-0, 6-0 wins at the bottom of the lineup, and Breunig added a 6-3, 6-0 win at No. 3.
 
That singles win for Skalda was her 10th of the season, making her Longwood's first to reach double digits this season and the first Lancer freshman to reach that benchmark since the program's all-time Division I singles wins leader Malin Allgurin went 13-4 in her inaugural 2011-12 season.
 
Breunig, meanwhile, won for the third time in her past four matches to continue a second-half surge that has seen her go 4-3 in singles play since March 17.
 
Sunday's win puts Longwood one match closer to the end of the 2017-18 regular season and leaves just three home matches remaining. That final stretch will pit the Lancers against Commonwealth rival James Madison this Thursday, April 12, and Howard next Sunday, April 15, along with a yet-to-be-determined makeup match against Big South foe Gardner-Webb.
 
Longwood 7, Norfolk State 0
Apr 08, 2018 at Farmville, Va. (Lancer Courts)
 
Singles competition
1. ALMIRON, Yulia (LWUW) def. CVJETKOVIC, Dajana (NST) 6-2, 99-0
2. VENTA, Marija (LWUW) def. FORTUNO, Paula (NST) 6-4, 99-0
3. BREUNIG, Jamie (LWUW) def. POPOVIC, Ana (NST) 6-3, 6-0
4. TERUNUMA, Kaori (LWUW) def. GONCALVES, Bruna (NST) 6-1, 99-0
5. SKALDA, Tanja (LWUW) def. LEE, Tyrika (NST) 6-0, 6-0
6. CANDIOTTO, Julia (LWUW) def. GREENHOUSE, Nena (NST) 6-0, 6-0
 
Doubles competition
1. VENTA, Marija/TERUNUMA, Kaori (LWUW) def. CVJETKOVIC, Dajana/FORTUNO, Paula (NST) 6-0
2. BREUNIG, Jamie/ALMIRON, Yulia (LWUW) def. GONCALVES, Bruna/POPOVIC, Ana (NST) 6-2
3. SKALDA, Tanja/CANDIOTTO, Julia (LWUW) def. LEE, Tyrika/GREENHOUSE, Nena (NST) 6-0
 
Match Notes
Norfolk State 2-7
Longwood 8-8
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (5,3,6,1,2,4)
 
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