FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – The Longwood women's tennis team was back on the courts on Sunday against nationally ranked Division-III opponent Mary Washington at the University of Mary Washington Tennis Center. 
 
The Lancers (4-1) bounced back from Thursday's defeat against Georgetown and controlled the courts with a 6-3 win led by efforts from the the veteran duo of Yulia Almiron and Jamie Breunig which started doubles play off strong at No. 3 with an 8-1 win over their counterparts Sophie Dixon and Olivia Moore. 
 
Logwood's No. 2 doubles pair of Emma Nurgazieva and Crystal Nzewi fell to their rival duo Danielle Mirabella and Claire Coleman 8-6. Closing out doubles play was Marija Venta and Anika Tylek defeating Rachael Summers and Lauren Quinn 9-8 to give the Lancers a 2-1 lead headed into singles play. 
 
The wins continued into singles for the Lancers as No. 6 Nurgazieva defeated Emily Bowerman 6-0, 6-0. Mary Washington's No. 5 Rachel Cooper beat Nzewi 6-2, 6-1. 
 
That was the final Eagles win as the Lancers regained control and won three straight, starting with No. 4 Tylek defeating Dixon 6-0, 6-0. No. 3 Venta fought hard against Mirabella in a three-set match, ultimately winning 6-2, 1-6, 10-8. Longwood's final win came from No. 2 Almiron, who conquered Quinn 6-3, 6-3. 
 
"Today's match was a good learning experience. Even though we got the win, we still need to work on our mental aspect of the game," Venta said. "Our main goal was to stay strong mentally and control our emotions throughout the match, but we did not do that successfully on all positions. We will take today's experience forward so we can improve our mental game further, so we can be successful against other Division I programs."
 
Sunday's win came as the Lancers have played two matches in three days, all on the road. Head coach Jhonnatan Medina Alvarez echoed Venta's laments about improving on the mental side of the game.  
 
"I'm not happy in our performance today. Even though we earned the victory, we need to evolve in the emotional component of tennis and embrace the struggle of the game," he said. 
 
"A reality of the sport is you will miss from time to time, and the other player will elevate their tennis, and we have to love that. We have to love to compete and strive. We can't play afraid to lose."
 
The Lancers will return to the courts Wednesday Feb. 20 for their first home match of the year starting at 2 p.m. against NC Central. 
 
Longwood 6, Mary Washington 3
02-17-19 at Newport News, Va. (UMW Tennis Center)
 
Singles competition
1. COLEMAN, Claire (UMW) def. BREUNIG, Jamie (LWU) 1-6, 6-5, retired
2. ALMIRON, Yulia (LWU) def. QUINN, Lauren (UMW) 6-3, 6-3
3. VENTA, Marija (LWU) def. MIRABELLA, Danielle (UMW) 6-2, 1-6, 10-8
4. TYLEK, Anika (LWU) def. DIXON, Sophie (UMW) 6-0, 6-0
5. COOPER, Rachel (UMW) def. NZEWI, Crystal (LWU) 6-2, 6-1
6. NURGAZIEVA, Emma (LWU) def. BOWERMAN, Emily (UMW) 6-0, 6-0
 
Doubles competition
1. VENTA, Marija/TYLEK, Anika (LWU) def. SUMMERS, Rachel/QUINN, Lauren (UMW) 9-8
2. MIRABELLA, Danielle/COLEMAN, Claire (UMW) def. NURGAZIEVA, Emma/NZEWI, Crystal (LWU) 8-6
3. ALMIRON, Yulia/BREUNIG, Jamie (LWU) def. MOORE, Olivia/DIXON, Sophie (UMW) 8-1
 
Match notes
Longwood 3-1
Mary Washington 2-1
 
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (6,5,4,2,3,1)
 
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