RICHMOND, Va. – In the fall of 2018, Guilherme Sergio made a quick exit from the fall tournament at the University of Richmond.
 
In his return to the River City one year later, the Lisbon, Portugal, native showed how far he's come.
 
Longwood's No. 2 singles player demonstrated 12 months of growth at the 2019 River City Tennis Open by tearing through the B flight singles bracket and winning his flight title Sunday at the Collegiate School Courts and University of Richmond.
 
The championship performance came at what has become the largest annual Division I tournament in Virginia, which draws players from numerous powerhouse programs from the Commownealth. Sergio was one of two Lancers to reach the championship bout of his singles flight, joining freshman Ernest Rocabert who finished runner-up in the G flight.
 
Sergio went a perfect 4-0 against that field during the three-day tournament, punctuating his four-match run with a straight-sets takedown of Virginia's Ammar AlhaqbanI on championship Sunday. The win over Alhaqbani gave the Longwood junior a victory over a Davis Cup veteran who has represented Saudi Arabia for four years on the international stage and amassed a 15-2 record in that international tournament.
 
That championship win capped four consecutive straight-sets wins in the tournament for Sergio, beginning with a 6-4, 6-2 rout of Campbell's Raphael Calzi in Friday's opening and continuing with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Richmond's George Lovitt and a 7-6, 6-4 win over Old Dominion's Luca Maldoner Saturday.
 
"Last year when Gui played in this tournament, he lost to [Maldoner]. That was the beginning of a year's worth of hard work he's put in to become the player he is today," said Longwood director of tennis Jhonnatan Medina Alvarez.
 
"I'm proud of him for deciding to make a change for the better. This tournament was full of amazing teams and players, but Gui never backed down. That's what good players do, and Gui showed he belongs on the same court as players at this level today."
 
In Sergio's disappointing performance in his first go-round in Richmond in 2018, Maldoner dealt him a 7-6, 7-6 opening-round loss to send him to the consolation bracket, where he split his final two matches to leave the tournament 1-2. However, when the two met in the 2019 B flight semifinals for the rematch, it was Sergio who returned the favor by taking down the Old Dominion sophomore.
 
That win set up Sunday's championship clash against Alhaqbani, who entered the day 6-0 this fall and 3-0 in the tournament with wins against players from James Madison, William & Mary and Wake Forest. However, Sergio needed just two sets to dispatch his Cavalier counterpart, taking the opening set 7-5 and cruising to a 6-2 second-set win to lock up the victory.
 
"Guilherme showed a lot today," Medina Alvarez said. "Last season I gave him a plan for improvement, and he embraced it and followed it. I hope his teammates see not only what he was able to do today, but all the hard work that went into it. In the end, it's a choice to be better. Gui proved that, and I'm happy for his success today."
 
River City Tennis Open
Oct. 11-13, 2019
Richmond, Va. (Richmond University & Collegiate Tennis Courts)
 
A Flight Singles
16: Bastien Huon (CU) def. Amadeo Blasco (LWU) 6-4, 6-4
Con.: George Davis (WM) def. Amadeo Blasco (LWU) 3-6, 6-3, 10-2
 
B Flight Singles
16: Guilherme Sergio (LWU) def. Raphael Calzi (CAM)
QF: Guilherme Sergio (LWU) def. George Lovitt (UR) 6-1, 6-3
SF: Guilherme Sergio (LWU) def. Luca Maldoner (ODU) 7-6, 6-4
F: Guilherme Sergio (LWU) def. Amaad Alhaqbani (UVA) 7-5, 6-2
 
D Flight Singles
16: John Walsh (UR) def. Guillermo Cagigas (LWU) 6-4, 6-3
Con.: Jakob Nielsen (GMU) def. Guillermo Cagias (LWU) 7-5, 4-6, 10-7
 
E Flight Singles
16: Will Karpinski (JMU) def. Ignacio Sandoval (LWU) 6-3, 6-4
Con.: Ignacio Sandoval (LWU) def. Zack Theodossiou (CofC) 6-4, 6-2
Con.: Federico Masetti (ECU) def. Ignacio Sandoval (LWU) 6-3, 6-2
 
F Flight Singles
16: Erick Rivas (GMU) def. Rosen Naydenov (LWU) 6-3, 6-7, 6-2
Con.: Panos Nearchou (ODU) def. Rosen Naydenov (LWU) 7-5, 6-2
 
G Flight Singles
16: Ernest Rocabert (LWU) def. Jack Aprahamian (RM) 6-0, 6-1
QF: Ernest Rocabert (LWU) def. Michael Pollatos (GMU) 6-3, 7-6
SF: Ernest Rocabert (LWU) def. Luke Maxwell (GMU) 6-3, 6-4
F: Cole Brainard (CHAR) def. Ernest Rocabert (LWU) 6-1, 6-2
 
C Flight Doubles
QF: Daniel Khin/Timo Zgraggen (VCU) def. Guilherme Sergio/Guillermo Cagigas (LWU) 6-3
Con.: Sebastian Quiros/Oren Vasser (WM) def. Guilherme Sergio/Guillermo Cagigas 6-2
Con.: Huvon/Manquest (CAM) def. Guilherme Sergio/Guillermo Cagigas by Default
 
E Flight Doubles
QF: Amadeo Blasco/Ernest Rocabert (LWU) def. Johnny Wang/Robby Krick (CofC) 6-2
SF: Agustin Tamagnone/Nelson Stafford (ECU) def. Amadeo Blasco/Ernest Rocabert (LWU) 6-4
Con.: Federico Rebecchini/Panos Nearchou (ODU) def. Amadeo Blasco/Ernest Rocabert (LWU) 7-6
 
F Flight Doubles
QF: Chanasorn Nakauri/Luke Maxwell (GMU) def. Ignacio Sandoval/Rosen Naydenov (LWU) 6-1
Con.: Erick Rivas/Edward Ayers (GMU) def. Ignacio Sandoval/Rosen Naydenov (LWU) 6-1
Con.: Ignacio Sandoval/Rosen Naydenov (LWU) def. Ike Simon/Nick Mueller (UR) 6-4
 
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