SPARTANBURG, S.C. – With back-to-back crunch-time wins at No. 6 and No. 1 singles, USC Upstate pulled off a late comeback to down visiting Longwood 4-3 Thursday evening at the USC Upstate Tennis Complex.
 
In a showdown between two teams fighting for a top-eight spot in the upcoming Big South Championship tournament, USC Upstate (3-18, 2-7 Big South) came out on top thanks to a pair of match-clinching singles wins in the final two bouts of the day. Both of those wins were three-set affairs, as Gabriela Cevallos defeated Lancer freshman Anika Tylek 7-6, 4-6, 6-3 at the No. 6 slot to tie the match at 3-3 before ace Noelia Acuna locked it up by closing out a marathon 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 win over Longwood No. 1 Marija Venta.
 
The loss is only the third in the past four matches for the Lancers (12-8, 2-6 Big South), who entered the matchup less than 24 hours after taking down Big South foe Hampton 5-2 Wednesday evening at Lancer Courts.
 
However, the Spartans were undeterred by Longwood's recent tear, overcoming a 3-2 deficit to win their second straight home match and come to within a half match of surpassing Longwood in the conference standings.
 
The 4-3 loss was Longwood's fourth one-point defeat of the season and second in the past three matches after second-place Presbyterian edged the Lancers 4-3 on April 6. Now the Lancers, whose Big South wins have come 5-2 over UNC Asheville and 7-0 over Hampton, have one more regular-season bout remaining to match the 2009-10 team's Division I-era record 13 victories.
 
USC Upstate spoiled Longwood's bid at matching that 15-year mark Thursday, overcoming the Lancers' doubles-point win and singles victories from sophomore Yulia Almiron and Emma Nurgazieva to pull off the comeback victory. Almiron and Nurgazieva provided a temporary halt to USC Upstate's momentum, teaming up to win back-to-back singles bouts that erased a 2-1 deficit and pulled Longwood to within one point of clinching.
 
Nurgazieva, who also teamed with redshirt freshman Crystal Nzewi to defeat USC Upstate's top tandem of Maria Jardim and Vale Zarama 6-4 in doubles play, won the first of those singles bouts, taking down Zarama in singles play 6-2, 6-4 at No. 4. Almiron followed with a 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 comeback win of her own at No. 3, extending her singles win streak to four straight and six of her past seven bouts.
 
However, Cevallos evened the score shortly after, defeating Tylek 7-6, 4-6, 6-3 to tie the match at 3-3, and Acuna locked it up by outlasting Venta 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 at the winner-take-all No. 1 slot.
 
The loss precedes Longwood's regular-season finale at Gardner-Webb, which will open at 11 a.m. in Boiling Springs, N.C., this Saturday, April 13. That will be the Lancers' final tuneup before the 2019 Big South Championship tournament, which will take place on April 16-20 at host Radford.
 
USC Upstate 4, Longwood 3
April 11, 2019
Spartanburg, S.C. (USC Upstate Tennis Complex)
 
Singles competition
1. ACUNA, Noelia (UPSTW) def. VENTA, Marija (LWU) 7-5, 3-6, 7-6
2. HELLBERG, Elin (UPSTW) def. BREUNIG, Jamie (LWU) 6-3, 6-4
3. ALMIRON, Yulia (LWU) def. JARDIM, Maria (UPSTW) 5-7, 6-1, 6-2
4. NURGAZIEVA, Emma (LWU) def. ZARAMA, Vale (UPSTW) 6-2, 6-4
5. BOZA, Ana (UPSTW) def. NZEWI, Crystal (LWU) 6-2, 6-4
6. CEVALLOS, Gabriela (UPSTW) def. TYLEK, Anika (LWU) 7-6, 4-6, 6-3
 
Doubles competition
1. NZEWI, Crystal/NURGAZIEVA, Emma (LWU) def. JARDIM, Maria/ZARAMA, Vale (UPSTW) 6-4
2. VENTA, Marija/ALMIRON, Yulia (LWU) def. ACUNA, Noelia/CEVALLOS, Gabriela (UPSTW) 6-4
3. BOZA, Ana/HELLBERG, Elin (UPSTW) vs. TYLEK, Anika/BREUNIG, Jamie (LWU) 5-6, unfinished
 
Match Notes
Longwood 12-8, 2-6
USC Upstate 3-18, 2-7
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (5,2,4,3,6,1)
 
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