UR men’s, women’s tennis defeat Longwood

The University of Richmond men’s and women’s tennis teams hosted Longwood University and quickly swept the Lancers off UR’s webs on April 6.

Men’s tennis

The men’s team was first to battle the Lancers, securing its second straight win with a final score of 5-2. 

In the singles competition, the Spiders went 4-2 in wins. Sophomore Daniel Kliebhan was the first to play and defeated his opponent 6-3 and 6-0. Senior John Walsh also reigned victorious over his opponent 6-4 and 6-2. Sophomore Alaister Burke was fifth in the lineup, where he won 7-6 (7) and 6-0. 

First-year Eli Gordon stepped foot on Richmond College tennis courts to make his debut where he brought the heat. Gordon defeated the Lancer 6-1 and 6-4. 

“I was really excited to play considering I haven’t played a match in a while, so that kind of clouded any nerves I might’ve had,” Gordon said. “I felt I played solid and [I] had a great time out there.” 

Longwood players defeated senior Alex Wernink and junior Ricky Bell, but they went down swinging racquets. 

In the doubles competition, UR cleaned the courts of the Lancers with a swift 3-0 win. Walsh and Kliebhan won 6-2, and Bell and Burke won 5-4 with their second match being unfinished. Wernink and sophomore Sebastion Miano were last to play but made work of Longwood with a close 6-4 win. 

Women’s tennis

The women’s team didn’t fret after swiping its third straight win by defeating the Lancers with a near-perfect 6-1 win. 

In the singles competition, UR went 5-1 against the Lancers. Fifth-year Emily Dunbar was first to face Longwood and left the court with back-to-back 6-2 wins. Sophomore Carly Cohen kept the racquets alive with two two-point wins, going 7-5 and 6-4. 

Senior Helene Heiberg went 2-1 in her matches, losing the first one 3-6, but bouncing back with a 6-1 win to tie. Heiberg broke that tie with a 10-5 win.

Sophomore Sara Salemyr won her matches 7-5 and 6-0, followed by junior Marta Buendia’s perfect back-to-back 6-0 wins. 

Junior Emily Garvin was the last Spider to play, winning 6-1 in the first match. Her opponent was able to tie the game with a 2-6 win and broke the tie with a 9-11 win over Garvin. 

In the doubles competition, UR walked away with a 2-1 win against the Lancers. 

Dunbar and Salemyr were first to play and first to fall with a 7-5 loss, but Cohen and Buendia followed with a 6-2 win. Garvin sought redemption against the Lancers with her dynamic duo Heiberg and won a nail-biting 7-6 win to wrap up the Spider-Lancer match-up. 

The men’s team will play again April 9 against the University of Dayton in Davidson, North Carolina, for a weekend Atlantic Conference 10 faceoff. 

The women’s team will stay home and welcome Saint Bonaventure University at 11 a.m. on April 15.

Contact Sports Co-Editor Andrew Cardounel at andrew.cardounel@richmond.edu