CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — The Longwood women's tennis team opened the 2024 ITA Atlantic Regional Championships at Virginia's Sheridan Snyder Tennis Center on Thursday.

The Lancers competed in singles action with all three Longwood players dropping their matches, despite pushing four of the six contests to three sets.

Sophomore Feline van Eijkelenburg won the first set against Elena Hartley of Loyola (Md.), 6-2, before falling in the next two, 4-6 and 5-7, respectively. She then dropped her match in the back draw to Noelle Talarek of George Mason, who took the first set, 6-4. Longwood's van Eijkelenburg battled to win the second, 6-3, but fell 10-3 in the deciding third-set tiebreaker.

Junior Elizaveta Gnilozubova also took the first set against the tournament's No. 9-16 seed from Maryland, Tamari Gagoshidze. Gnilozubova claimed a 7-5 decision in the opener, but dropped the match as Gagoshidze held Gnilozubova in check the rest of the way, earning 6-1 wins in the final two sets to take the match. 

Gnilozubova then fell to Mason's Mary Young in the back draw. Again, she won the first set, 6-4, but Young took the next two, 7-5 and 10-3, for the victory.

Classmate Oriana Izarra began her day with a 6-3, 6-3 loss to Parvathi Shanker from Navy. She the fell to Sabina Iurea of Norfolk State, 6-3, 6-0.

Doubles action gets underway Friday. Play for the day starts at 9:30 a.m.