First-year Head Coach Jhonnatan Medina-Alvarez and his history-making men’s tennis team saw their season come to an end on Wednesday, bowing out to Winthrop University in the program’s first-ever Big South semifinal appearance.
The Lancers came back from a 3-1 deficit in Tuesday’s quarterfinal against conference rival Liberty University to tie the match 3-3, eventually leading to junior Julian Farthing’s heroics in the deciding matchup to send Longwood to their program’s first-ever Big South semifinal appearance.
“It’s something I’ve been working for three seasons … and it’s been a big goal of ours for the past five years to get our first conference (postseason) win,” Farthing said. “We were over the moon, smiles all around. One of the best days of our college careers.”
Farthing recalls being mobbed by his teammates after Liberty’s return hit went out of play, knowing he had just stamped his name into the record books.
Coming off his best season of his collegiate career, Farthing set a career-high 24-9 singles record, while also setting a program record with his 6-1 record in Big South matches. Additionally, he was named to the All-Big South second team in singles, as well as an All-Academic team selection.
Now, he can add that he secured the program’s first-ever Big South tournament win to his already illustrious college tennis resumé.
The following day, the Lancers found themselves in the same 3-1 hole they were in 24 hours before, this time against top-seeded Winthrop. After fighting back to tie the match 3-3, the Eagles pulled out a tiebreaker win to end Longwood’s season.
“Obviously we were really sad, and were very emotional. After all the work we have done, it was over, it was just done,” sophomore Amadeo Blasco said. “There was no coming back and we couldn’t fix it.”
With his first season in the books, Medina-Alvarez addressed the emotional Lancer squad following their heartbreaking season-ending loss.
“Our coach was very proud of us and all the work we did during the season,” Blasco said. “We played with our heart and gave our all. We didn’t give it to them, they had to take it from us.”
Blasco completes his sophomore year with numerous accolades, including program records for single-season wins in both singles and doubles play with a 30-7 overall record, smashing the previous record of 23 wins. He also became the program’s first player to be named First Team in singles twice, and also was a Second Team selection for doubles with his partner freshman Raisei Sakai.
The Lancers' season finishes with a final overall record of 13-9 and a 3-4 conference record. They met the Big South preseason expectation of placing fifth in the regular season, but exceeded expectations by advancing in the postseason.
Both Farthing and Blasco credit new coach Medina-Alvarez for the work he has put into the team this past season, as he led them to new heights and set the bar for next season.
“(Medina-Alvarez) just brings the best out of everyone. He’s very hard-masked – in a positive way – that he pushes everyone to be their best, and doesn’t accept anything other than your best,” Farthing said. “He commits so much to the team, he sacrifices so much to be with us … the least we can do is try our hardest in training and in matches to give the best to the program.”
Blasco added, “He made everyone more disciplined and try to be their best in anything we do. He has a lot of knowledge since he was a pro player, like he knows every scenario and what is going through our minds. He’s been there before.”
The Lancers continue to add new faces to their already young program and have set the bar for next season in a possible extended postseason run.
Julian Farthing excels in serving during the last matchup.
Valentin Popescu reaches to the ground to keep the tennis match ground.
