With the CAA championships looming large, William and Mary saw the season finale at Old Dominion as an opportunity to build up much needed confidence. Rather than find any momentum though, the Tribe only found more questions.
The Tribe (10-15) dropped the doubles point and the No. 1, No. 2, and No. 4 individual matches on the way to a 4-3 defeat at the hands of Old Dominion (12-9).
In doubles play, each duo fell to the Monarchs. Senior Jacob Braig and junior Anton Andersson lead the way for the Tribe at the No. 1 position, but ultimately dropped the match, 8-5. The No. 2 pair of sophomore Ben Guthrie and senior Ilja Orre and No. 3 tandem of sophomore John Banks and graduate student Robert Pietrucha didn’t find any better luck, falling 8-5 and 8-2, respectively. Old Dominion took the lead, 1-0, heading into singles play.
After the loss in doubles play, Pietrucha rode his two-match win streak into his No. 5 spot matchup against Old Dominion’s Can Cetinel. Pietrucha’s hot hand would continue, as he dropped Cetinel in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.
Pietrucha’s victory ties him for the team lead with 21 singles victories on the season.
Guthrie continued Pietrucha’s success, dropping the Monarch’s Albert Ochagavia, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. After falling behind in the first set, Guthrie rallied to take the second and third sets for his fourth consecutive victory and his sixth win in seven outings.
In court No. 6, Banks recorded the Tribe’s final victory of the day. Banks narrowly lost the first set, 6-7, as Old Dominion’s Alfredo Rodriguez grabbed the tiebreaker point. In the second set, however, Banks didn’t need a tiebreaker after he won 6-3. In the decisive third set, both Banks and Rodriguez labored en route to a 10-5 decision in favor of the College.
While Banks and Guthrie fought to victory in tiebreakers, the Tribe’s No. 1 and No. 2 players watched from the sidelines, their matches already finished. Junior Adrian Vodislav entered the No. 1 court looking to get a quality win under his belt prior to the CAA championships. Instead, Vodislav managed just two game victories, as the Monarch’s Krzysztof Muzalewski quickly won 6-1, 6-1.
Similarly, Andersson failed to record the victory. After getting blanked in the first set, Andersson continued to struggle in the second, eventually losing to Carlos Lopez Villa, 6-0, 6-2.
