FAIRFAX, Va. – For a third straight match, Longwood men's tennis had George Mason's number.
 
In their third consecutive win in a series that they lead 9-3 since the inaugural meeting in 2004, the Lancers (6-8, 0-4 Big South) carried the momentum of a doubles sweep into singles play and used three wins there to grind out a 4-3 road win over the Patriots on the Mason Tennis Courts.
 
Longwood sophomore Ernest Rocabert clinched the victory at the No. 6 slot, cruising to a 7-5, 6-2 win over George Mason's Hayden Postin to improve the Lancers to 6-2 in non-conference play this season.
 
With his entire team watching alongside the Longwood women's team, which also made the trip for their own showdown with the Patriot women, Rocabert worked Postin close to the net and snuck the final point past him to send the entire Lancer contingent into raucous applause.
 
Rocabert's win was the last of Longwood's three singles victories, which also included a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 2 from Guilherme Sergio and a 6-2, 6-1 victory at No. 4 from Guillermo Cagigas – both seniors, playing in the first of the final two regular-season matches of their respective careers.
 
The victory came in Longwood's final non-conference match of the season and on the Lancers' third consecutive match day. However, despite facing Big South foes Radford and Presbyterian on back-to-back days Thursday and Friday, and then hitting the road early Saturday morning for the 160-mile drive to George Mason's campus, Longwood showed no signs of fatigue in
 
Rocabert and Sergio also teamed up for one of Longwood's three doubles wins, taking down George Mason's No. 2 duo of Rishab Sardana and Erick Rivas 6-4. Meanwhile, Cagigas also won twice following his 6-1 doubles takedown alongside freshman Andrew Illett, which jumpstarted the doubles sweep. Senior Rosen Naydenov and sophomore Ignacio Sandoval paired up as well for a 6-3 win over Patriots Rithik Sardana and Ryan Charles.
 
Longwood will now have a week to prepare for its final match of the regular season, a road showdown at Campbell next Saturday, April 10, at 2 p.m.
 
Longwood 4, George Mason 3
April 3, 2021
Fairfax, Va. (Mason Tennis Courts)
 
Singles
1. Rishab Sardana (MASON) def. NAYDENOV, Rosen (LWU) 6-3, 4-6, 7-5
2. SERGIO, Guilherme (LWU) def. Rithik Sardana (MASON) 6-4, 6-4
3. Momin Khan (MASON) def. SANDOVAL, Ignacio (LWU) 5-7, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2
4. CAGIGAS, Guillermo (LWU) def. Erick Rivas (MASON) 6-2, 6-1
5. Herman Jentoft (MASON) def. ILETT, Andrew (LWU) 6-4, 6-3
6. ROCABERT, Ernest (LWU) def. Hayden Postin (MASON) 7-5, 6-2
 
Doubles
1. NAYDENOV, Rosen/SANDOVAL, Ignacio (LWU) def. Rithik Sardana/Ryan Charles (MASON) 6-3
2. ROCABERT, Ernest/SERGIO, Guilherme (LWU) def. Rishab Sardana/Erick Rivas (MASON) 6-4
3. CAGIGAS, Guillermo/ILETT, Andrew (LWU) def. Herman Jentoft/Luke Maxwell (MASON) 6-1
 
Records
Longwood 6-8
George Mason 3-5
 
#GoWood