FARMVILLE, Va.—After a 12-game season-opening stretch on the road, the Longwood men's tennis team made its long-awaited home debut Friday against the visiting Big South preseason favorite Campbell at Lancer Courts.
 
However the Fighting Camels (9-4) rallied from a 3-2 deficit and clinched the comeback with a 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 6 from Ted Williams over Longwood sophomore Marc Casasnovas. That final bout was a marathon between two gritty competitors, who battled for nearly a full hour before Williams pulled away in the final set.
 
The loss was the second straight 4-3 defeat for the Lancers (8-5) who fell by the same score at Radford Wednesday. It marks only the second time this season the Lancers have dropped back-to-back bouts and follows a four-match win streak that included a 4-3 win over Big South powerhouse Winthrop on March 17.
 
Campbell took an early lead by sweeping the doubles point, opening with the Fighting Camels' top duo of Dustin Werner and Raphael Calzi taking down Longwood's No. 1 pairing of Amadeo Blasco and Guilherme Sergio, 6-4. Campbell then clinched the point at the No. 3 slot after Fernando Clemente and Bastien Huon took down Julian Farthing and Raisei Sakai, 6-1.
 
That lead was short-lived however, as the veterans Blasco and Farthing led a comeback charge that saw those two secure back-to-back straight-set victories to give Longwood a 2-1 lead. Farthing won at No. 5 over Clemente 6-3, 6-1 to tie the score at 1-1, and Blasco followed with a 6-4, 6-2 takedown of Werner at No. 1.
 
The back-and-forth battle continued, however, as Calzi responded by dealing Longwood freshman standout Guillermo Cagigas a 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 defeat at the No. 3 slot to even the match again at 2-2.
 
But sophomore Guillerme Sergio avenged his freshman teammate with go-ahead win at No. 2, grinding out a 6-1, 7-5 win over Huon to reclaim the Lancer lead.
 
Longwood's lead was also short-lived, though, as Gerard Sola evened the score again by defeating Sakai 6-4, 6-4 to send the match into a winner-take-all tiebreaker at No. 6 featuring Williams and Casasnovas. Casasnovas took the first set 7-5, but Williams bounced back to take the final two 6-3, 6-3, to win the bout and secure Campbell's win.
 
Longwood will have a chance to rebound in less than 24 hours as they take on Farmville neighbor Hampden-Sydney Saturday at 9 a.m. and then follow with a home match against Howard Sunday..
 
Campbell 4, Longwood 3
March 22, 2019
Farmville, Va. (Lancer Courts)
 
Singles competition
1. BLASCO, Amadeo (LWU) def. WERNER,Dustin (CAM) 6-4, 6-2
2. SERGIO, Guilherme (LWU) def. HUON,Bastien (CAM) 6-1, 7-5
3. CALZI,Raphael (CAM) def. CAGIGAS, Guillermo (LWU) 5-7, 6-4, 6-2
4. SOLA,Gerard (CAM) def. SAKAI, Raisei (LWU) 6-4, 6-4
5. FARTHING, Julian (LWU) def. CLEMENTE,Fernando (CAM) 6-3, 6-1
6. WILLIAMS,Ted (CAM) def. CASASNOVAS, Marc (LWU) 5-7, 6-3, 6-3
 
Doubles competition
1. WERNER,Dustin/CALZI,Raphael (CAM) def. BLASCO, Amadeo/SERGIO, Guilherme (LWU) 6-4
2. CAGIGAS, Guillermo/CASASNOVAS, Marc (LWU) vs. SOLA,Gerard/MONTEROSSO,Louis (CAM) 5-3, unfinished
3. HUON,Bastien/CLEMENTE,Fernando (CAM) def. FARTHING, Julian/SAKAI, Raisei (LWU) 6-1
 
Match Notes
Campbell 8-4
Longwood 8-4
 
#GoWood