FARMVILLE, Va. – The Longwood men's tennis team dropped a 5-2 decision to the College of Charleston in its 2024 home opener at the New Lancer Courts on Sunday.
 
After the Cougars swept doubles, earning the point to begin the match, Longwood's Alejandro Hernandez knotted things with a 6-2, 6-4 over Mattia Bernardi victory at No. 2 singles. Eddie Vo then gave the College of Charleston the lead, beating Alejandro Uribe, 6-4, 6-2 on court four.
 
Juan Diego Rojas Mora followed, outlasting Luis Reis 7-6 (4), 7-5, at No. 6 to extend the lead. Jordyn Larke made it 4-1 with a three-set 7-5. 3-6, 6-3 victory against Lorenzo Meschini on court five.
 
Timeo Puech pulled one back for the Lancers in a 6-3, 7-6 (6) win, dispatching Zac Larke, but the Cougars took the match with a Matias Gaedechens win against Petar Belosevic at No. 3. Gaedechens won the final two sets, both in tiebreakers, 7-6 (9) and 1-0 (8) to close the match, after Belosevic took the first set, 6-2. 

"In today's match against Charleston, we started off a bit slow in doubles in the first 2-3 games and we were able to pick it up after that but, it was not enough," Longwood head coach Carlos Lora said. "Once we got into singles though, I was very pleased with how much all of the guys fought until the end, just gutwrenching to not come out on top with the result today. We will continue to take steps forward as we continue through the season."
 
The College of Charleston improved to 3-1 on the season with the win, while Longwood dropped to 0-2 in the loss.
 
The Lancers return to action Thursday at Coppin State at noon.