Longwood University Athletics

FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood men's tennis gave James Madison everything that they could handle at the New Lancer Courts, but the Dukes pulled out a 4-3 win over the Lancers on Sunday evening.
 
Sunday's match marks the fourth consecutive dual between Longwood and James Madison that has ended with a final score of 4-3, with Longwood most recently downing the Dukes on March 24, 2018 by the same score.
 
After dropping the doubles point, Longwood rallied to fight their way back into the match with a strong performance in singles play. Kicking off the singles surge for Longwood was sophomore Ignacio Sandoval, who made quick work of Alvaro Arce in the second position, 7-5, 6-2 to win his third singles match in a row and give Longwood their first point of the match, 1-1.  
 
Oscar Hernandez responded for the Dukes, beating Longwood's Rosen Naydenov in a razor-thin match, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 in one of four singles clashes that went the distance on Sunday to regain the lead for James Madison, 2-1.  
 
The second of those three-set marathons came in the first position, as Lancer ace Guilherme Sergio bounced back from an opening-set loss to take down the 2020 VaSID Rookie of the Year Holden Koons 2-6, 6-4, 7-5. The win over Koons, who finished 2020 with a 20-9 singles record, improves Sergio to 2-2 in the first position for Longwood this season, and tied the match at 2-2 with three singles matches to play.
 
Sophomore Ernest Rocabert continued the Lancer momentum in the fourth position, the highest he has played in 2021. The Barcelona, Spain native recovered from a first set loss, bouncing back with a huge 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 victory to earn his third-consecutive singles win and surge Longwood back in front, 3-2.
 
However, the Dukes were able to recapture the momentum in the pivotal third position match, where Paul Mendoza rallied to win a thriller over Guillermo Cagigas 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 and tie the dual at 3-3. The match is Cagigas' second-consecutive match featuring 33 games, but he fell just short to Mendoza, who advanced to the Round of 16 in the ITA Atlantic Regional Championship in 2020.
 
James Madison completed the come-from-behind effort in the sixth position, where Mario Pena was victorious over Longwood's Sebastian Mezo 6-3, 6-1 to clinch the dual for James Madison, 4-3.
 
Up next for Longwood is another home dual, as they will host North Carolina A&T on Sunday, March 14 at the New Lancer Courts. The dual is set to kickoff at 1 p.m.

James Madison 4, Longwood 3
March 7, 2021
Farmville, Va. (New Lancer Courts) 

Singles
1. SERGIO, Guilherme (LWU) def. Holden Koons (JMU) 2-6, 6-4, 7-5
2. SANDOVAL, Ignacio (LWU) def. Alvaro Arce (JMU) 7-5, 6-2
3. Paul Mendoza (JMU) def. CAGIGAS, Guillermo (LWU) 6-7, 6-4, 6-4
4. ROCABERT, Ernest (LWU) def. William Karpinski (JMU) 3-6, 7-5, 6-2
5. Oscar Gonzalez (JMU) def. NAYDENOV, Rosen (LWU) 6-2, 3-6, 7-6
6. Mario Pena (JMU) def. MEZO, Sebastian (LWU) 6-3, 6-1

Doubles
1. Paul Mendoza/Holden Koons (JMU) def. ROCABERT, Ernest/SERGIO, Guilherme (LWU) 6-4
2. Gonzalo Adis/Alvaro Arce (JMU) def. CASASNOVAS, Marc/NAYDENOV, Rosen (LWU) 6-4
3. Oscar Gonzalez/William Karpinski (JMU) def. ILETT, Andrew/CAGIGAS, Guillermo (LWU) 6-1

Team Records
James Madison 1-2
Longwood 2-3

Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (2,1,5,4,3,6)

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