Longwood University Athletics

GREENSBORO, N.C.— Squeezing in one last non-conference match before Sunday's Big South opener at Winthrop, Longwood pulled off a near-sweep over North Carolina A&T with a doubles-point wins and five singles victories en route to a 6-1 victory at the Aggie Tennis Complex.

The win was Longwood's third straight and fifth in the past six matches and sends the Lancers into Sunday's Big South kickoff with a 7-3 record under second-year head coach Jhonnatan Medina Alvarez.

Junior ace Amadeo Blasco, in pursuit of Longwood's all-time singles win record, once again spearheaded the Longwood charge, winning his 10th straight match as Longwood's No. 1 to remain undefeated this spring. He toppled North Carolina A&T No. 1 Jorge Goenaga 6-1, 6-3 to give the Lancers a 4-1 lead that clinched the win.

The victory was the second of the day for Longwood director of tennis Jhonnatan Medina Alvarez's program following the women's team's 4-3 victory over the Aggies Saturday morning.

"I think both teams played well overall," Medina Alvarez said. "And for tomorrow being our first conference match, I feel that both teams are physically and technically ready to perform. I still believe that our emotions will play a big roll in the outcome of our match against Winthrop Sunday. I hope that all the hard work and dedication that got us here can be rewarded with how we play tomorrow."

The latest men for the Longwood men began with a doubles-point victory that Longwood's No. 2 duo of Julian Farthing and Raisei Sakai secured by gutting out a 7-5 win over Nicolas Arduh and Hayden Faulkenbury. That victory followed another Longwood win at No. 3 from Marc Casasnovas and Guillermo Cagigas, 6-2 over Jordan Lawrence and Nolan Martino.

Farthing, who currently ranks second on Longwood's all-time singles wins list, picked up his milestone 70th career singles win to keep that momentum rolling. He made quick work of Lawrence at the No. 5 slot, dropping just one game during a 6-0, 6-1 win.

Adding his eighth win of the season, Cagigas -- two-time Big South freshman of the week -- defeated Faulkenbury 6-2, 6-1 at No. 4.

North Carolina A&T finally got on the board with a win at No. 3 to cut Longwood's lead to 3-1, as Ivanov took down Longwood sophomore Sakai 6-3, 6-1. Blasco, however, fired back at the Aggies with a win over Goenaga 6-1, 6-3. Along with that win putting him in double digits for the third straight season, the victory was also the 66th of his career, which puts him just 22 victories behind all-time singles wins leader Nobu Tanaka and four behind the senior Farthing on Longwood's career list.

Longwood 6, N.C. A&T 1
Mar 16, 2019 at Greensboro, N.C. (Aggie Tennis Complex) 
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Singles competition 1. BLASCO, Amadeo (LWU) def. GOENAGA, Jorge (NCATM) 6-1, 6-3

2. SERGIO, Guilherme (LWU) def. ARDUH, Nicolas (NCATM) 6-4, 6-2

3. IVANOV, Vasil (NCATM) def. SAKAI, Raisei (LWU) 6-3, 6-1

4. CAGIGAS, Guillermo (LWU) def. FAULKENBURY, Hayden (NCATM) 6-2, 6-1

5. FARTHING, Julian (LWU) def. LAWRENCE, Jordan (NCATM) 6-0, 6-1

6. NAYDENOV, Rosen (LWU) def. MARTINO, Nolan (NCATM) 6-2, 6-7 (3-7), 1-0 (10-4)

 
Doubles competition

1. GOENAGA, Jorge/IVANOV, Vasil (NCATM) def. BLASCO, Amadeo/SERGIO, Guilherme (LWU) 6-3

2. FARTHING, Julian/SAKAI, Raisei (LWU) def. ARDUH, Nicolas/FAULKENBURY, Hayden (NCATM) 7-5

3. CASASNOVAS, Marc/CAGIGAS, Guillermo (LWU) def. LAWRENCE, Jordan/MARTINO, Nolan (NCATM) 6-2

 
Match Notes

Longwood 7-3

N.C. A&T 1-12

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

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