NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk State overcame Longwood's sweep of the doubles point to storm back in singles play, rattling off four straight wins to overtake the Lancers 4-1 Sunday afternoon at the NSU Tennis Complex.
 
Longwood (9-13, 2-7 Big South) began pursuit of their 10th win of the season in dominant fashion, rolling to a 1-0 lead on the strength of three straight doubles wins. The Spartans (7-9) turned the tables in singles play, however, stringing together back-to-back-to-back straight-sets victories at No. 1, 2 and 5 and finishing off the win with a three-set triumph at No. 4.
 
"We played all our good tennis during doubles," said interim head coach Rich Stoneman. "We didn't take pride in our singles play. Not a good day on the courts for this program and these ladies today. It's just not good enough."
 
The win was the third straight for Norfolk State, which improved to 5-1 over their past six matches. Spartan ace Dajana Cvjetkovic and reigning All-MEAC first team selection Liza Gordeeva sparked the turnaround with wins over Longwood No. 1 and 2 Fallon Burger and Anna Pelak in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3 and 6-3, 6-1, respectively.
 
Gordeeva and Cvjetkovic's singles wins were payback after those two were on the losing end of a 6-2 doubles decision that went in favor of Longwood's top tandem of freshmen Burger and Isis Gill-Reid. That victory set the pace for a Longwood doubles sweep that included a 6-2 win from Pelak and Mason Thomas at No. 2 and Paloma Alatorre and Maria Coronel at No. 3, but that momentum changed hands shortly after the start of the next round.
 
Andrea Macchiavello clinched the match for the Spartans with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 victory over Paloma Alatorre at No. 4 singles.
 
Longwood has two regular season matches remaining, both non-conference bouts, before the start of the 2016 Big South postseason. The Lancers, who earned a program-record No. 8 seed in the Big South Championship and will face No. 9 seed Radford in the first round on April 15, conclude their regular season against Chowan Monday and Hampton Tuesday.
 
Norfolk State 4, Longwood 1
April 10, 2016
Norfolk, Va. (NSU Tennis Complex)
 
Singles
1. CVJETKOVIC, Dajana (NOST) def. BURGER, Fallon (LWU) 6-2, 6-3
2. GORDEEVA, Liza (NOST) def. PELAK, Anna (LWU) 6-3, 6-1
3. GILL-REID, Isis (LWU) vs. GOMAR, Marta (NOST) 2-6, 6-2, 2-0, unfinished
4. MACCHIAVELLO, Andrea (NOST) def. ALATORRE, Paloma (LWU) 6-1, 3-6, 6-0
5. POPOVIC, Ana (NOST) def. THOMAS, Mason (LWU) 6-1, 6-4
6. CORONEL, Maria (LWU) vs. LHORCA, Mafalda (NOST) 7-6, 4-3, unfinished
 
Doubles
1. BURGER, Fallon/GILL-REID, Isis (LWU) def. CVJETKOVIC, Dajana/GORDEEVA, Liza (NOST) 6-2
2. PELAK, Anna/THOMAS, Mason (LWU) def. MACCHIAVELLO, Andrea/LHORCA, Mafalda (NOST) 6-2
3. ALATORRE, Paloma/CORONEL, Maria (LWU) def. POPOVIC, Ana/GOMAR, Marta (NOST) 6-3
 
Match Notes
Norfolk State 7-9
Longwood 9-13
 
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