FARMVILLE, Va. – Needing just one win to make history again, sophomore Amadeo Blasco came through in the clutch.

Longwood men's tennis ace Blasco outdueled his Winthrop counterpart for a record-setting 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 victory Sunday, breaking the all-time single-season wins record of 23 previously held by Lancer great Nobu Tanaka.

"Congratulations to Amadeo [Blasco] for breaking the record," said first-year head coach Jhonnatan Medina Alvarez. "I want to thank everyone who came out for LANCERSTRONG today. It was a good moment for the university to see us in action."

Not only did Blasco set the record with his 24th win, he also extended his win streak to seven straight and put the Lancers on the board trailing 2-1 at the time.

However, it was the long-time Big South power Winthrop (5-6, 3-0 Big South) that flexed their muscles down the stretch taking four singles matches and the early doubles point to down Longwood (7-7, 1-3 Big South) by a 5-2 score.

"We had so many opportunities." Medina Alvarez said. 'We were so close, just a few points from closing out the doubles for the early lead."

Blasco was joined in the win column by Julian Farthing's gut-check three-set comeback. A native of London, England and member of the top five all-time wins list at Longwood, Farthing overcame an early 6-2 first set loss with a 7-6, 6-2 finish to bring the Lancers within striking distance at 3-2 – but it was Winthrop who prevailed over the final two decisions.

After Farthing's comeback win, the Eagles took a pair of three-set wins on courts two and six for the final 5-2 margin.

Just a sophomore, Blasco keeps scattering his name across the Longwood men's tennis record books with his 24 single-season wins, the program's first-ever Big South Freshman of the Week and Freshman of the Year, as well as his freshman record five Big South singles wins last season.

Farthing's three-set comeback extended his win streak to five as he collected career win No. 52, just one shy of moving into a tie for third on the all-time wins list. The junior also sits just two wins shy of tying his career-high 19 wins set two seasons ago as a freshman thanks to his 11-1 record at court No. 4 this spring.

Sunday's loss saw the end of Longwood's four-game win streak – all coming at home, as well as the end of their perfect homestand.

"When things get tough and the match goes on, you have to make decisions and adjustments instead of just waiting for somebody to make the mistakes for you," Medina
Alvarez said. "After talking to the team in the middle of the match, they were able to turn things around and almost pull out some of the matches."

"When you play teams like Winthrop, you have to be extremely respectful of the tactics and win important points. That's what today's match came down to," Medina Alvarez said. "The guys understand that if you want to win conference matches, you have to believe and can't wait for someone to give you something, you have to take it yourself."

After taking a highly-contested doubles point, Winthrop broke through with the first singles point and 2-0 lead behind Tremayne Mitchell's straight-set 6-3, 6-1 win over reigning Freshman of the Week Valentin Popescu at court No, 3.

The Lancer and Eagles traded points through the first four singles matches before Leandros Pappayiannis outlasted Raisei Sakai 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 at court No. 2 and Joshua Ryan overcame an early deficit at court No. 6 to down Daniel Hernandez 2-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Playing in the No. 5 slot, senior Jorge Godoy forced a decisive third set but fell to his Winthrop counterpart 6-0, 3-6, 6-1.

Longwood stays at home for another weekend as they dip out of conference play to host Commonwealth rival James Madison Saturday and Big South rival Radford Sunday to close the homestand.

First serve between the Lancers and Dukes is set for 2 p.m. while Sunday's match with the Highlanders is set for 1 p.m. from Lancer Courts.

Winthrop 5, Longwood 2
March 18, 2018 | Lancer Courts | Farmville, Va.

Singles:
1. Blasco (LWU) def. Diego Quiroz (WU) 6-1, 4-6, 6-4
2. Leandros Pappayiannis (WU) def. Sakai (LWU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
3. Tremayne Mitchell (WU) def. Popescu (LWU) 6-3, 6-1
4. Farthing (LWU) def. Connor Williamson (WU) 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2
5. Gabriel Dias (WU) def. Godoy (LWU) 6-0, 3-6, 6-1
6. Joshua Ryan (WU) def. Hernandez (LWU) 2-6, 6-2, 6-2

Doubles:
1. Quiroz/Mitchell (WU) def. Farthing/Hernandez 6-1
2. Blasco/Sakai (LWU) def. Gokhale/Williamson 6-3
3. Ryan/Dias (WU) def. Godoy/Popescu (LWU) 6-4

Order of Finish:
Doubles – 1, 2, 3
Singles – 3, 1, 5, 4, 2, 6

Match Notes:
Longwood – 7-7 (1-3 Big South)
Winthrop – 5-6 (3-0 Big South)

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