FAIRFAX, Va. – Longwood twice flirted with a signature win this spring, only to stumble in crunch time in a pair of 4-3 letdowns on the road against both Georgetown and George Washington.

But Sunday afternoon in Fairfax, the Lancers finally made their breakthrough, and they did so in dominant fashion.

Backed by a nearly flawless performance from top to bottom, Longwood steamrolled George Mason 6-1 to improve to 4-2, matching the second-best start of the program's Division I era and the best six-match mark since the 2016-17 Lancers – led by then-freshman and now-junior Amadeo Blasco – opened the year 5-1.

The most recent win in Longwood's second season under Longwood director of tennis Jhonnatan Medina Alvarez came at the end of a grueling eight-day span in which the Lancers have played four matches, all on the road. However, that travel did little to impact Longwood's performance against the Patriots (0-6) as the Lancers lost just three sets on the day and suffered just two defeats in their nine matchups. 

"The team played hard, and they did so in front of our tennis alumni who came out to watch us play," Medina Alvarez said. "It was a great atmosphere and great energy during every match and against a good George Mason team. We are beginning to play at every line with the same concept and philosophy, and that buy-in will make the team stronger in every aspect. 

"There is always room for improvement, but today I'm satisfied with the struggle the team embraced and endured, as well as how they paid respect to the game with their play. Now it's back to the gym and court, as we aren't done -- we've only just begun."
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Longwood's 6-1 win over the Patriots (1-6) followed back-to-back one-point losses to a pair of Division I foes, both of which were decided in the final singles match. The Lancers had no need for such drama Sunday, winning the doubles point and never relinquishing the lead the rest of the way.

Blasco and Sergio started that rally early in doubles play, making quick work of their No. 1 counterparts Pally Ray and Ryan Charles 6-0. That win extended the Longwood pair's record to 4-0 this spring.

Longwood's No. 3 pair Julian Farthing and Raisei Sakai followed suit to clinch the doubles point, defeating Chanasorn Nakaurai and Giuliano Buzoianu 7-5. 

Singles play was a near-sweep, as five out of the six Lancers won their matches. Blasco and Sergio led that charge from the top of the lineup with 6-1, 7-6 and 6-1, 6-2 at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively.

Farthing picked up Longwood's other two-set win, routing his No. 4 counterpart Giuliano Buzoianu 6-2, 6-0 to improve his career record to 68-28, which ranks second on Longwood's all-time singles win leaderboard.

George Mason's lone singles win came at No. 3 where Jakob Nielson beat Guillermo Cagigas 6-1, 6-4, but Longwood's 5-6 combo of Raisei Sakai and Marc Casasnovas made up for it with back-to-back pro-style wins, 8-4 and 8-3, to end the match.

"After two matches, we have been improving progressively. Today, the team played together like we were only one player that really wanted to win. The focus of today's match was to actually do everything we have talked about," Blasco said.

"Obviously, it was not perfect, but we are very happy with the result and everyone's attitude. Personally, I am really excited to play my first match at home as a junior and have the support of the crowd. I'm looking forward to playing on our courts, and I think that we are ready to show everyone that we are a tough team."

After a long week of back-to-back matches, the Lancers will return to Farmville for their home opener of the 2019 spring season Feb. 22 against North Carolina A&T at 3 p.m.

Longwood 6, George Mason 1
Feb. 17, 2019
Fairfax, Va. (George Mason Tennis Courts) 

Singles competition
1. BLASCO, Amadeo (LWU) def. AYERS, Edward (GMU) 6-1, 7-6
2. SERGIO, Guilherme (LWU) def. RAY, Pally (GMU) 6-1, 6-2
3. NIELSEN, Jakob (GMU) def. CAGIGAS, Guillermo (LWU) 6-1, 6-4
4. FARTHING, Julian (LWU) def. BUZOIANU, Giuliano (GMU) 6-2, 6-0
5. SAKAI, Raisei (LWU) def. CHARLES, Ryan (GMU) 8-4
6. CASASNOVAS, Marc (LWU) def. RIVAS, Erick (GMU) 8-3

Doubles competition
1. BLASCO, Amadeo/SERGIO, Guilherme (LWU) def. RAY, Pally/CHARLES, Ryan (GMU) 6-0
2. NIELSEN, Jakob/AYERS, Edward (GMU) def. CAGIGAS, Guillermo/CASASNOVAS, Marc (LWU) 6-5
3. FARTHING, Julian/SAKAI, Raisei (LWU) def. NAKAURAI, Chanasorn/BUZOIANU, Giuliano (GMU) 7-5

Match Notes
Longwood 4-2
George Mason 0-6

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