ELON, N.C. – Alfonso Castellano picked up his sixth singles victory of the year, but the Longwood men's tennis team fell, 6-1, Thursday afternoon against Elon at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.
 
With the loss, the Lancers fall to 0-8 on the campaign, while the Phoenix improves to 5-8 overall.
 
Elon came out and quickly gained control of the match by sweeping the doubles point. The tandem of Jordan Kaufman and Chris Humphrey's earned a 6-2 victory over Florian Uffer and Castellano on court two, before Robert Lindgren and Juan Madrid picked up a 6-3 victory over Bharani Sankar and Rosen Ilchev at the No. 3 position to seal the opening point.
 
Stefan Fortmann and Brian Kowalski completed the sweep in the doubles portion for Elon, as the pair earned a 6-2 decision against Longwood's top pair of Dan Elston and Steed Johnson.
 
Elon continued its momentum to start singles, claiming the first three matches in straight sets. At the No. 4 position of the lineup, Johnson fell to Kowalski, 6-1, 6-1, while Sankar dropped his match in straight sets, 6-2, 6-0, from the fifth spot in the order against Josh Luck.
 
The Phoenix clinched the team win, as Ilchev dropped a hard-fought match in straight sets, 6-0, 6-2, against Madrid.
 
Meanwhile, Uffer won the first set on court two over Kaufmann, before being edged in a third set tiebreak, 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 (4). The loss for Uffer is his 10th of the season.
 
At the top spot of the order, Dan Elston dropped the first set of his match, 6-2, against Fortmann. However, the Longwood ace responded by forcing a third set tiebreak after taking the second set, 6-3. Fortmann ultimately won the tightly contested tiebreak, to end Elston's three-match winning streak.
 
On court three, Castellano dropped the first set of his match against Lindgren, 6-4, but responded to win the second set in a tiebreak, 7-6. Castellano won a thrilling third set tiebreak, 11-9, to take the match over Lindgren, 6-4, 7-6, 1-0 (9). The win is the sixth of the season for Castellano, as he has won three of his six matches from the No. 3 position.
 
Longwood returns to the courts Sunday, March 15 at Gardner-Webb. The match from Boiling Springs, N.C., is set for a 1 p.m. first serve.

Tennis Match Results
Longwood vs Elon
March 12, 2015 at Elon, N.C. (Jimmy Powell Tennis Center)
Elon 6, Longwood 1 

Singles
1. Stefan Fortmann (ELON) def. Dan Elston (LONG) 6-2, 3-6, 10-6
2. Jordan Kaufman (ELON) def. Florian Uffer (LONG) 3-6, 6-3, 10-4
3. Alfonso Castellano (LONG) def. Robert Lindgren (ELON) 4-6, 7-6, 11-9
4. Brian Kowalski (ELON) def. Steed Johnson (LONG) 6-1, 6-1
5. Josh Luck (ELON) def. Bharani Sankar (LONG) 6-2, 6-0
6. Juan Madrid (ELON) def. Rosen Ilchev (LONG) 6-0, 6-2
 
Doubles
1. Fortmann/Kowalski (ELON) def. Elston/Johnson (LONG) 6-2
2. Kaufman/Humphreys (ELON) def. Uffer/Castellano (LONG) 6-2
3. Lindgren/Madrid (ELON) def. Sankar/Ilchev (LONG) 6-3
 
Match Notes:
Longwood 0-8
Elon 5-8
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (4,5,6,2,1,3)
 
#GoWood