Jamie Breunig and Marija Venta
By CHRIS COOK
LongwoodLancers.com
FARMVILLE, Va. – This time 12 months ago, the Longwood women's tennis team was among the youngest in the country.
The oldest players on that 2017-18 team were sophomore "veterans"
Jamie Breunig and
Marija Venta, the upperclassmen by default on a roster that featured no seniors, six freshmen and not a single player that had played more than one year of college tennis.
But a lot can happen in one year.
Just hours away from their spring opener Thursday at Christopher Newport, the Lancers enter their 2019 competition season more seasoned and battle-hardened than they were a year ago. Still led by Breunig and Venta – now juniors who have played in every match since they came to campus – the team features a veteran core that will take the court for the first time this afternoon against the Division III powerhouse Captains at 4:30 p.m.
It's been a long-awaited debut for the 2018-19 Lancers, who are now under the leadership of Longwood Director of Tennis
Jhonnatan Medina Alvarez, also Longwood's men's head coach who added the post of women's head coach to his duties in the fall. In doing so, Medina Alvarez inherited a team that endured a trial by fire last season, grinding through a 2017-18 campaign that was the first collegiate action for 75 percent of the team's roster.
"I learned a lot from last year, having to step up and fill those shoes since we didn't have a senior," Breunig said. "But I think our team does a really good from a leadership standpoint – everybody is a leader on the team in some way, and everybody brings something to the table. In matches, Yulia [Almiron] is really fired up and adds that energy. During practice, I like to think I lead by example through hard work. Others are more vocal about trying to help others. We have a good balance."
Breunig and Venta have played at Longwood's top three singles spots since stepping foot on campus together in 2016-17, and last year the pair each set career highs for singles wins while also going 3-4 as Longwood's No. 1 doubles pairing. They are on track to resume their foothold in those top-tier lineup spots again this year, alongside the sophomore Almiron, who – like Breunig and Venta two years prior – made a major impact in her first year as a Lancer, amassing an 8-11 singles record as Longwood's No. 1 and No. 2 last spring.
Almiron, Breunig and Venta set the tone for Longwood's 2019 season this past fall when the trio combined for a 9-3 singles record during three tournaments, including the Virginia State Invitational where Almiron took home the first-place trophy after beating Breunig in the title matchup. That loss was the only one of the fall for Breunig, while Almiron's victory was part of a 5-1 fall in which she won her first five matches and reached the Round of 32 at the ITA Atlantic Regional.
"In the fall, I think we were really physically fit and played well, but we were lacking on the mental side of the game," Almiron said. "This semester we've been really putting emphasis on that. Today it will be interesting to see if we can implement that into our game."
That Lancers will have their work cut out for them today against a Christopher Newport squad that has solidified itself as a Division III powerhouse and perennial championship contender in the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC). Since joining the CAC in 2013-14, the Captains have amassed a 29-5 record in conference play with four consecutive second-place finishes behind only Division III powerhouse Mary Washington.
Joining Longwood's veteran trio in taking down Christopher Newport will be redshirt freshman
Crystal Nzewi and freshman newcomers
Emma Nurgazieva and
Anika Tylek. Those three got their first taste of college tennis this fall at the Liberty Invitational and Virginia State Invitational and will make their official spring debuts Friday.
That group has undertaken a new approach under Medina Alvarez, following his blueprint of putting a premium emphasis on the mental and emotional side of the game, as well as fitness. Last year that strategy propelled the Lancer men to a 13-9 record and the program's first trip to the Big South semifinals, all in Medina Alvarez' first year.
"We focus mainly on playing consistent, very long points," Breunig said. "Our fitness is the base of our training. This year we've spent more time on the court, and this semester we've focused a lot on the mental side. A lot of the mistakes we make during our matches, they're not coming from a technical standpoint. It's more emotional, like you're nervous or frustrated, so we're working on minimizing that."
Friday's opener marks the beginning of a season-opening road gauntlet for the Lancers, who play their first five matches on the road before opening on the Lancer Courts against N.C. Central on Wednesday, Feb. 20. Following Friday's showdown against Christopher Newport, the Lancers will head to Blacksburg, Va., to take on Bluefield State Sunday.
"We're excited to get back to team format, playing alongside each other, cheering each other on and supporting each other," Breunig said. "In the fall we didn't get to play any normal matches like we do in-season. We're looking forward to it today. It's going to be fun."
#GoWood
