GREENVILLE, N.C. – Despite dropping the spring dual debut of first-year coach Pierre Tafelski at East Carolina, 6-1, a singles win from junior Florian Uffer helped Longwood men's tennis avoid a sweep Monday afternoon inside the ECU Indoor Tennis Facility.

The Lancers (0-1) avoided the sweep as Uffer defeated East Carolina's Kasey Countee, 6-2, 7-5 at the No. 2 singles position to begin his third dual season in the blue and white. In addition, Uffer paired up with Lachlan Manser to beat the duo Fredric Lehfeldt and William Himpe, 6-4, at the No. 2 doubles position.

"The guys came out strong as the underdog and really pushed ECU in doubles," said coach Tafelski. "This first match is a good starting point to help us understand what we need to work on for the next few weeks."

East Carolina freshman Vlad Anghel earned the first of five singles wins on the day for the Pirates, as he defeated Longwood's Bharani Sankar, 6-2, 6-0. Then, despite a tough battle put up by Alfonso Castellano for the Lancers, Tendai Tapfuma defeated Castellano, 6-2, 7-5, atop the singles lineup.

Lehfeldt gave the Pirates a 3-1 advantage following the first four single matches with a 6-2, 6-3, win over Longwood freshman Julian Farthing in No. 4 singles.

Lachlan Manser battled at the No. 5 position in the second set to help bring the Lancers back, but ultimately it was pirate Ronny Georgi who won, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) to secure the match victory for East Carolina.

ECU (1-0) took two out of three doubles matches on the day to open the match by earning the doubles point. The Pirates first doubles win came as Kasey Countee and Will Bissett defeated the Lancer duo of Bharani Sankar and Rosen Ilchev, 6-4., in the No. 3 flight.

After the Lancers win in No. 2 doubles, the tandem of Tendai Tapfuma and Vlad Anghel earned a hard-fought win against Longwood's Julian Farthing and Alfonso Castellano in No. 1 doubles to secure the point.

Longwood will have two and a half weeks to prepare for its next match, as the Lancers travel to Division III foe Mary Washington Saturday, Feb. 6. First serve is set for 11 a.m.

"We are looking forward to get back on the court to practice and fix details that will allow us to be more competitive," Tafelski said.

Match Results
East Carolina 6, Longwood 1

Singles
1. TAPFUMA, Tendai (ECU) def. CASTELLANO, Alfonso (LWU) 6-4, 6-2
2. UFFER, Florian (LWU) def. COUNTEE, Kasey (ECU) 6-2, 7-5
3. ANGHEL, Vlad (ECU) def. SANKAR, Bharani (LWU) 6-2, 6-0
4. LEHFELDT, Fredric (ECU) def. FARTHING, Julian (LWU) 6-2, 6-3
5. GEORGI, Ronny (ECU) def. MANSER, Lachlan (LWU) 6-2, 7-6 (7-3)
6. HIMPE, William (ECU) def. ILCHEV, Rosen (LWU) 6-1, 6-2

Doubles
1. TAPFUMA/ANGHEL (ECU) def. FARTHING/CASTELLANO (LWU) 7-5
2. UFFER/MANSER (LWU) def. LEHFELDT/HIMPE (ECU) 6-4
3. COUNTEE/BISSETT (ECU) def. SANKAR/ILCHEV (LWU) 6-1

Match Notes:
Longwood 0-1
East Carolina 1-0
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (3,1,2,4)

#GoWood