FARMVILLE, Va. – The Lancers continued to flex their singles dominance, with their latest performance earning them their first conference win of the season.
 
Longwood women's tennis team won four of six singles matches to power past USC Upstate for their first conference win of the season, 4-3 on Sunday afternoon at the Lancer Courts. Marija Venta, Emma Nurgazieva, and Yulia Almiron all notched two-set victories for the Lancers, putting the Lancers one match away from victory after dropping the doubles point to the Spartans.
 
Freshman Maria Saez delivered the final win for the Lancers (7-3, 1-2 Big South) in come-from-behind fashion, rallying from an opening set defeat to win 12 of the final 16 games in her 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 triumph over Upstate's Maria Jardim, clinching victory for Longwood. The Alicante, Spain native improved to 4-0 in the third position with the win.

"We went into singles play one down after doubles, and I'm extremely proud of how they handled the pressure from that," said head coach Jhonnatan Medina Alvarez. "They fought hard at important points in the match, and to do that against a team that beat us twice last year is a great accomplishment. I'm really happy for them, and I hope that can be a good foundation for the next match we have ahead of us."
 
Sunday's win avenged a 3-4 defeat at the hands of the Spartans (1-13, 0-4 Big South) in the 2019 regular season and a 4-0 defeat in the first round of the 2019 Big South Championship. Longwood continues to dominate singles play, now holding a 34-20 mark as a team in the 2020 season. Three Lancers have recorded at least six singles wins, in Almiron (6), Saez (7), and Venta (6), while five Lancers have a positive record in singles competition (Almiron, Breunig, Saez, Venta, Nurgazieva).
 
Marija Venta lead the way for Longwood, defeating Upstate's Roberta Armani 6-2, 6-0 in the fifth slot to secure the first singles point for Longwood. Emma Nurgazieva improved to 5-3 in singles with her win over the Spartans' Gabriela Cevallos, 6-3, 6-4 to notch the second Lancer point of the dual. Yulia Almiron put the finishing touches on her match shortly after, beating Upstate's No. 1 Elin Hellberg 6-2, 7-5 to set up Saez's dual-winning match.
 
Longwood continues their home stand on Tuesday, March 10 when they host Western Carolina. Play is set to begin at 12 p.m.
 
Singles Results
1. ALMIRON, Yulia (LWU) def. HELLBERG, Elin (USCUW) 6-2, 7-5
2. NURGAZIEVA, Emma (LWU) def. CEVALLOS, Gabriela (USCUW) 6-3, 6-4
3. SAEZ, Maria (LWU) def. JARDIM, Maria (USCUW) 3-6, 6-4, 6-0
4. VALENTINE, Morgan (USCUW) def. BREUNIG, Jamie (LWU) 6-1, 6-2
5. VENTA, Marija (LWU) def. ARMANI, Roberta (USCUW) 6-2, 6-0
6. ILLANES, Laura (USCUW) def. NZEWI, Crystal (LWU) 6-4, 5-7, 10-8
 
Doubles Results
1. HELLBERG, Elin/CEVALLOS, Gabriela (USCUW) def. VENTA, Marija/BREUNIG, Jamie (LWU) 6-1
2. ARMANI, Roberta/VALENTINE, Morgan (USCUW) def. ALMIRON, Yulia/SAEZ, Maria (LWU) 6-1
3. NURGAZIEVA, Emma/NZEWI, Crystal (LWU) vs. ILLANES, Laura/JARDIM, Maria (USCUW) 4-3, unfinished
 
Match Notes: Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (5,4,2,1,3,6)

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