The Longwood men’s tennis team continued a run over the past week, starting with a default win over North Carolina A&T. Following the forfeit, they beat Norfolk State, Virginia Wesleyan College and Hampton University, dropping three total points over the course of those matches.
Seniors Daniel Elston and Steed Johnson led the team during the four match win streak, their longest of the season,which brought the overall record to 7-15. The Lancers find themselves with wins against schools in Virginia.
Looking to increase that number, the Lancers headed back to action this past Monday as senior day honored Johnson and Elston at Lancer Courts against Division III opponent, Bridgewater College.
Elston looked to add to his over .500 singles record; Johnson looked to finish a 9-9 season in doubles paired with Elston.
Longwood Head Coach Marty Perry echoed the praise as he told the Longwood Athletics official website, “Both are tremendous assets to the program, the energy and dedication they bring each day is monumental.”
Elston and Johnson defeated Bridgewater's No. 1 doubles team of sophomore Christian Lynn and sophomore Kyle Hartfield, 8-3. The tone was set as the No. 2 pair of freshman Alfonso Castellano and sophomore Florian Uffer took an 8-4 win over their counterparts from Bridgewater. As junior Bharani Sankar and sophomore Rosen Ilchev beat sophomore Aaron Snook and sophomore Kyle Bowers, it marked the third straight time Longwood swept the doubles point.
Going into singles, the Lancers had a 1-0 lead on the Eagles.
Longwood was led by the dominating play of their two seniors as both earned straight set victories, giving Elston a 13-7 overall record in singles this year. The closest match in singles was Elston's match as he won 6-2, 6-1.
Afterwards, Castellano, Uffer, Sankar and Ilchev all won in straight sets.
The shutout win gives them five straight victories and sends the pair of seniors off with a victory.
“(Elston and Johnson) have both set the bar high for future team leaders and have made a significant impact on current team members. Both will be missed for years to come," said Perry to the Longwood Athletics official website.
The Lancers will enter the Big South Conference tournament on a win streak as the No. 9 seed against No. 8 Gardner-Webb University in Asheville, North Carolina on Saturday.
The Lancers dropped the only meeting against the Bulldogs, 1-6 back in March.
