ETTRICK, Va. – The Longwood men's tennis team has set itself up for a busy Sunday.
After another dominant day on the courts at the Dr. Robert Walter Johnson Memorial Invitational, Lancer ace
Amadeo Blasco will represent the Lancers in the championship of Virginia State's marquee fall tournament, while all three of the team's doubles pairings will take part in the semifinals.
Blasco, the No. 1 seed at the event, remained unbeaten with two more straight-set singles wins and stands just one win away from repeating as singles champion at the tournament following his title run at last year's tournament. Saturday's wins pushed Blasco's career singles win-loss record to 77-17, increasing his hold on the program's all-time winning percentage record and pushing him closer to
Nobu Tanaka's career record of 88 singles victories.
Blasco had to get past his own teammate and fellow top-of-the-lineup mainstay
Guilherme Sergio in the semifinals Saturday and did so in straight-sets, 6-2, 6-4. That followed the senior Spaniard's 6-1, 6-3 win over North Carolina A&T's Nicolas Arduh in the quarterfinals.
Blasco will now prep for a championship showdown against North Carolina A&T's Vasil Ivanov, joining Longwood women's teammate Yulia Almiron in championship action after the Lancer sophomore blazed her own trail to the women's singles final.
"Having two players in the finals is pretty exciting," said Longwood director of tennis
Jhonnatan Medina Alvarez. "Last year we won doubles in both tournaments, so having more players reach the semifinals in singles and doubles is exactly what we talked about yesterday.
"I think over these past two days, they have understood what it means to be coachable. They've had a lot of good energy, and they were able to do the things I asked. We came out with a sort of syllabus with a set of goals we want to achieve on a daily basis. Every match we have a checklist of what everybody is required to do in every match. They've taken to that, and today was positive in regards to it. I'm excited about their response today, and we're all looking forward to tomorrow."
Longwood wrapped the day 8-3 in singles and 3-0 in doubles with freshman
Ignacio Sandoval bouncing back from a first-round loss Friday to win both bouts Saturday. Sergio also won his first match Saturday to meet Blasco in the semifinals, while
Ernest Rocabert,
Guillermo Cagigas and
Rosen Naydenov also picked up wins.
Blasco and his doubles partner Rocabert also reached the semifinals in doubles play and will join Longwood pairings Cagigas and Sergio, and Naydenov and Sandoval in semifinal competition Sunday.
Sunday's action will begin at 9 a.m. at VSU Tennis Complex.
Dr. Robert Walter Johnson Memorial Invitational
September 20, 2019 (Day One)
Ettrick, Va. (VSU Tennis Complex, Virginia State University)
Longwood Doubles
Amadeo Blasco/
Ernest Rocabert (LWU) def. Jorge Goenaga/Nicolas (NCAT) 6-1
Guillermo Cagigas/
Guilherme Sergio (LWU) def. __________ (HAM) 6-2*
Rosen Naydenov/
Ignacio Sandoval (LWU) def. __________ 6-0*
Longwood Singles
Amadeo Blasco (LWU) def. Nicolas Arduh (NCAT) 6-1, 6-3
Amadeo Blasco (LWU) def.
Guilherme Sergio (LWU) 6-2, 6-4
Guilherme Sergio (LWU) def. Davy Van Deerke (HAM) 6-2, 6-4
Ernest Rocabert (LWU) def. Sebastian Bromley (NCCU) 6-1, 6-3
Jorge Goenaga (NCAT) def.
Guillermo Cagigas (LWU) 7-6, 6-1
Guillermo Cagigas (LWU) def. Christos Dagkis (NCCU) 8-5
Rosen Naydenov (LWU) def. Basil Post (HAM) 6-2, 6-1
Ignacio Sandoval (LWU) def. __________ (NCCU) 6-0, 6-4*
Ignacio Sandoval (LWU) def. __________ (HOW) 8-5*
Puric (NCAT) def.
Marc Casasnovas 5-2, ret.
*Full results from Virginia State not yet available
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