After defeating James Madison 4-3 in the morning, William and Mary’s second victory Saturday afternoon signified more than just another win for the season. The Tribe’s 5-2 victory over Delaware marked the 500th win for men’s tennis head coach Peter Daub.
Despite losing the top two slots in singles play against the Dukes (5-8, 2-1 CAA) and the Blue Hens (4-7, 1-1 CAA), the Tribe (10-13, 3-0 CAA) won both tilts and secured a historical milestone for Daub.
The Tribe faced the Dukes in the morning, claiming the doubles point to start off the day. The current Colonial Athletic Association Doubles Team of the Week, senior Anton Andersson and sophomore Aaron Chaffee, defeated the Dukes’ Ryan Pool and Robert Stirling 8-6 to grab the initial victory for the Tribe. Junior Ben Hoogland and senior Adrian Vodislav went on to secure the sweep for the doubles point with an 8-2 drubbing of Bastien Russo and Greg Vladimirsky.
Singles play began with junior John Banks quickly extending the Tribe’s lead to 2-0 with a 6-2, 6-2 dismantling of the Duke’s Maxi Branth at the No. 6 position. The win improved Banks’ record on the season to 5-1 at the No. 6 spot.
After Banks’ victory, JMU finally got on the board with the Dukes’ Vladmirsky defeating junior Ben Guthrie 6-3, 6-2 in the No. 3 slot. The Tribe responded, however, with a victory at the No. 4 slot as Hoogland dispatched Stirling 7-6, 6-2. Hoogland decided the first set with a tie-breaker but went on to comfortably defeat Stirling in the second set. Hoogland’s victory extended the Tribe’s lead to 3-1.
The Dukes tied the Tribe at 3-3 with victories at the No. 1 and No. 2 slots. However, Vodislav eventually rescued the Tribe in the No. 5 position, winning the match with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 comeback over the Dukes’ Florent Sentenac.
The afternoon match was a more comfortable victory for the Tribe, as the team topped Delaware 5-2.
The College began again with victories in all three doubles matches. Andersson and Chaffee defeated the Blue Hens’ Troy Beneck and Adam Lawton, 8-3. This was the duo’s fifth win in its last six matches at the No. 1 slot, improving its season record to 8-7.
Banks and Hoogland wrapped things up in doubles for the Tribe with an 8-4 triumph over Jason Derene and Mike Furr in the No. 3 slot, improving the duo’s record to 2-1 in doubles play.
Opening singles play, Guthrie was easily defeated by the Blue Hens’ Lawton, 6-0, 6-1 in the No. 2 slot, tying the match at 1-1. However, the tie would not last long as freshman Scott Huang was able to respond with an easy victory in the No. 6 slot over fellow freshman Alex Sweet, 6-1, 6-0. The win marked Huang’s 11th win of the season.
Huang’s victory gave the Tribe the lead for the rest of the match. For the second time Saturday, Hoogland extended the Tribe’s lead to 3-1 with his 6-1, 6-1 defeat of Evan Andrews in the No. 4 position. The victory improved Hoogland’s record to 8-2 on the season at the No. 4 singles position.
Vodislav and Banks wrapped things up for the Tribe. Vodislav pulled out a tough victory over Nolan Gelman, 7-5, 6-3, good for his 10th win on the season in the No. 3 slot. Banks finished off the Blue Hens with his 6-3, 6-2 victory over Delaware’s Derene in the No. 6 slot. Banks currently leads the Tribe with 18 wins for the year.
William and Mary will close out the regular season with matches against Richmond April 10 and Old Dominion April 13. Both games will take place in Williamsburg.
