“You’ve got to have a tight team in order to succeed,” College of William and Mary Head Coach Peter Daub said after his team’s early season loss to then no. 30 University of Notre Dame. “Today it boiled down to talent.”
That’s not to say this year’s squad is devoid of talent. Junior team captain Keziel Juneau, the College’s top singles player, leads the 61st-ranked Tribe. Two seniors, Marwan Ramadan and Dominic Pagon, add experience to the team.
Daub, in his 15th year as head coach, realizes the need to keep his lineup fluid as the season progresses.
“It all depends on how the personalities relate and how the returns stack up,” Daub said.
Juneau’s most frequent doubles partner is sophomore Sebastien Vidal, who teams up with Juneau on the nation’s 52nd-ranked doubles pair. Vidal is also making strides as a singles player. Junior Richard Wardell and Finnish freshman Ilja Orre round out the Tribe’s lineup, which combines youth and experience.
The team’s camaraderie has translated into successful play against similarly ranked opponents this season.
Last weekend’s triumphs over no. 65 Brigham Young University and no. 63 Clemson University earned them the Tribe National Indoor Invitational title.
But this weekend’s visits to no. 21 Wake Forest University and third-ranked University of Georgia will measure just how much talent is within that tight nucleus of players.
