BOX SCORE

DURHAM, N.C. – Freshman Theofanis Kontopoulos registered a three-set victory for the North Carolina Central University men's tennis team in a 6-1 home loss to Longwood University on Sunday afternoon.
 
The Lancers won their third consecutive match and now boast a 6-1 overall record.
 
Kontopoulos was able to get back into the win column and improve to 6-4 on his rookie season with his victory in the No. 2 position in the Eagles lineup. Kontopoulos knocked off Longwood senior Florian Uffer by a score of 7-6 (7), 1-6, 6-4.
 
The Lancers won the bottom three matches in straight sets, but a couple of other Eagles also battled to three sets like Kontopoulos on courts one and three.
 
The top billing featured two players riding win streaks and it proved to be the most dramatic match as the first two sets were settled by tiebreakers and the decisive third remained close to the end. Longwood freshman Amadeo Blasco was able to outlast sophomore Gabriel Cucalon in the dramatic affair to stay undefeated on the season at 7-0. Blaco's 7-6 (2), 6-7 (4), 6-4 win ended a five-match win streak for Cucalon.
 
NCCU sophomore No. 3 Davide Callegari won his first set and led 4-1 in the second before freshman Arthur Bardellotto was able to win the next five games to level the match. Bardellotto then finished off the impressive comeback in a close third set. All three sets were decided by just two games with the final margin of victory being 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.
 
The Eagles did garner a doubles win as Cucalon partnered with freshman Maksym Konovalov for a 6-4 conquest in the top flight. However, the Lancers won the bottom two doubles bouts, 6-3 and 6-4, to attain the first team point.
 
NCCU next hosts Appalachian State University on Thursday, March 9 at 3 p.m.