SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Propelled by a nearly perfect showing throughout the lineup, Longwood inched closer to the program's Division I wins record with a 6-1 takedown of Big South foe USC Upstate Thursday afternoon at the USC Upstate Tennis Complex.
Just over 24 hours removed from a 7-0 sweep of Hampton, the Lancers (13-7, 3-4 Big South) extended their winning streak to three matches and matched last season's win total to come to within one victory of tying the program's D-I era record of 14 wins set by the 2016-17 Longwood team.
Now the Lancers, who have already secured their third consecutive winning record for the first time in the Division I era, will have an opportunity to reach for that historic 14th win this Saturday, April 13, in the regular-season finale at Gardner-Webb.
"For the guys, this is the best match they've played this year," said Longwood director of tennis
Jhonnatan Medina Alvarez, who now owns a 26-16 record in his two seasons as head coach of the Lancer men's program.
"I'm proud of them for reaching 13 wins and three conference wins, and we have an opportunity to win another one before the postseason. I'm happy for the win today and the work they put in to make it happen."
Following back-to-back 7-0 sweeps over Virginia State and Hampton, Longwood's third straight victory came on the strength of a match-opening doubles-point win and five singles triumphs, all of which were in straight sets. Junior ace
Amadeo Blasco sparked that onslaught in singles play, taking down USC Upstate's top player Ankush Arora 6-1, 6-3 to improve to 17-2 this spring and 73-17 for his career. He is now just 15 wins shy of tying
Nobu Tanaka's all-time singles wins record and already has a strong hold on the program's career singles winning percentage record.
Following Blasco's quick win atop the lineup,
Guilherme Sergio won at No. 2 6-3, 6-2 over Fernando Bernardes, and
Guillermo Cagigas avenged teammate
Raisei Sakai's loss at No. 3 with a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 4 over Frederick Sydow.
The sophomore tandem of
Marc Casasnovas and
Rosen Naydenov rounded out Longwood's top six with a pair of two-set victories, first Naydenov making quick work of Samuel Schiano 6-2, 6-1 at No. 6 and lastly with Casasnovas grinding out a 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 win over Tom Russwurm at No. 5.
Now 3-4 in conference play, Longwood is guaranteed a sixth-place finish in the final conference standings and has a chance to match the program record for Big South wins in the regular-season finale this Saturday at Gardner-Webb. A fourth win would put Longwood on par with the same 2016-17 team that finished 14-6 overall and 4-3 in Big South play and surpass last year's 13-9 team that won three Big South matchups and advanced to the semifinals of the Big South Championship for the first time in program history.
Longwood 6, USC Upstate 1
April 11, 2019
Spartanburg, S.C. (USC Upstate Tennis Complex)
Singles competition
1. BLASCO, Amadeo (LWU) def. ARORA, Ankush (UPSTM) 6-1, 6-3
2. SERGIO, Guilherme (LWU) def. BERNARDES, Fernando (UPSTM) 6-3, 6-2
3. EBLE, Luka (UPSTM) def. SAKAI, Raisei (LWU) 7-6 (9-7), 6-1
4. CAGIGAS, Guillermo (LWU) def. SYDOW, Frederick (UPSTM) 6-4, 6-4
5. CASASNOVAS, Marc (LWU) def. RUSSWURM, Tom (UPSTM) 7-6 (7-4), 6-3
6. NAYDENOV, Rosen (LWU) def. SCHIANO, Samuel (UPSTM) 6-2, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. ARORA, Ankush/BERNARDES, Fernando (UPSTM) vs. BLASCO, Amadeo/SERGIO, Guilherme (LWU) 2-5, unfinished
2. CASASNOVAS, Marc/NAYDENOV, Rosen (LWU) def. EBLE, Luka/RUSSWURM, Tom (UPSTM) 6-3
3. SAKAI, Raisei/CAGIGAS, Guillermo (LWU) def. SCHIANO, Samuel/SYDOW, Frederick (UPSTM) 6-2
Match Notes
Longwood 13-7, 2-4 BSC
USC Upstate 2-16, 1-7 BSC
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (1,2,6,4,3,5)
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