Score: VCU 6, Longwood 1
Location: Richmond, Va. (Thalhimer Tennis Center)
Records: VCU 2-1 (0-0 Atlantic 10), Longwood 0-1 
 
The Short Story: On the back of fearless doubles play and strong singles performances, VCU Women's Tennis earned a dominant 6-1 victory over Longwood on Friday afternoon
 
Quote from Coach Kahfiani: "Solid Performance from the Rams today. There are lots of good takeaways to continue to get better moving forward."
 
Opening Serve

• Doubles play was tightly contested across all three courts, with each match decided by three points or fewer. The first breakthrough came on court three, where Sara Alba and Viktoria Lackova pulled away late to earn the first doubles win for VCU. On court one, Mariam Ibrahim and Tania Isabel Andrade Sabando were locked in a back-and-forth battle, tied at four late in the match, but the pair dropped the final two games to even the doubles score at 1-1. With the point on the line, Andrea Magallanes and Sofia Jane Thorne delivered on court two. Locked at four, then five, and then six, the Rams surged ahead in the tiebreak, 7-6(2), to secure the hard-fought doubles point for VCU
• Moving into singles action, Thorne kicked things off for the Rams with a quick 6-1 first set. The second set proved more difficult, as the score was tied at three and again at five; however, Thorne took the next two games to win in straight sets and secure the first singles point for VCU
• Next, Lackova, the A-10 Rookie of the Week, fell 4-6, 4-6 on court one after two competitive sets that could have gone either way, bringing Longwood within one point of the Rams.
• On court four, Isabel Andrade, the A-10 Player of the Week, took down her opponent in three sets, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2. Andrade dropped the second set in a tiebreak but quickly shut down any momentum with a strong 6-2 third set, bringing the Rams within one point of victory
• On court five, similar to her previous match, Magallanes worked quickly against her opponent. An injury to her opponent cut the match short, but the outcome was never in doubt from the opening point, bringing the victory to VCU
• Meanwhile, on court three, Ibrahim had been in a tight contest for the majority of the afternoon. After prevailing 7-5 in the first set, which felt like a match in itself, she dropped the second set 3-6 before bouncing back emphatically with a 6-2 third set to win the point for the Rams.
• Finally, on court six, Alba earned a convincing 6-2, 6-2 victory. Never looking in danger of losing, she controlled the tempo of the match from the beginning and closed out a business-like afternoon for the Rams

Singles results
1. Bali Song (Long) 6-4, 6-4 def. Viktoria Lackova (VCU) 6-4, 6-4
2. Sofia Jane Thorne (VCU) def. Feline van Eijkelenburg (Long) 6-1, 7-5
3. Mariam Ibrahim (VCU) def. Hima Fernando (Long) 7-5, 3-6, 6-2
4. Tania Isabel Andrade Sabando (VCU) def. Oriana Izarra (Long) 6-1, 5-7, 6-2
5. Andrea Magallanes (VCU) def. Genevieve Dickey (Long) 6-3, 1-0 [Ret] 
6. Sara Alba (VCU) vs. Alexis Broderick (Long) 6-2, 6-2 
 
Doubles results
1. Oriana Izarra / Bali Song (Long) def. Mariam Ibrahim /Tania Isabel Andrade Sabando (VCU) 6-4
2. Andrea Magallanes / Sofia Jane Thorne (VCU) def. Hima Fernando / Elizaveta Gnilozubova (Long) 7-6(2)
3. Sara Alba / Viktoria Lackova (VCU) def. Feline van Eijkelenburg / Genevieve Dickey (Long) 6-3
 
Order of Finish: Doubles: 3, 1, 2     Singles: 2, 1, 4, 5, 3, 6
 
Up Next: VCU will be back in action on Saturday, January 31, as they host George Washington at 10 a.m. at Thalhimer Tennis Center