William and Mary found success on the courts this weekend. The men’s team impressed spectators at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis CLub’s 126th Pacific Coast Doubles Championship in San Diego Friday and Saturday while the No. 30 women’s squad shut out Navy 7-0 at McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center in Williamsburg, Va. Saturday afternoon.
Competing in the country’s second oldest tennis event, the College (11-8, 1-0 CAA) men had plenty to cheer about Friday. Senior duo Will Juggins and Aaron Chaffee opened the tournament with an 8-3 victory over Boston College’s Kent Mukai and Alexandre Thirouin, followed by an 8-5 triumph over Boise State’s Toby Mitchell and Garrett Pattonm. With the two wins, Juggins and Chaffee advanced to the main draw round of 16.
Two Tribe pairings advanced to the consolation draw round of 16 as the team of freshman Christian Cargill and sophomore Addison Appleby and the team of freshman Alec Miller and junior Scott Huang each achieved back-to-back victories after dropping their initial matches.
Saturday saw Juggins and Chaffee bow out of the competition with a 6-2, 7-6 (4) loss to Pepperdine’s Alexander Solonin and Kento Tanaka-Tamaki, whom Appleby and Cargill fell to the previous day.
In the consolation draw round of 16, Appleby and Cargill bested Mukai and Thirouin 6-2, 6-1 while Huang and Miller beat Stanford’s Roy Lederman and Brandon Sutter 6-2, 7-6 (0).
Both teams were, however, eliminated in the quarterfinals, as Appleby and Cargill lost to California’s Andre Goransson and JT Nishimura 6-2, 6-2, and the No. 3-seeded Hofstra duo of Peter Smith and Kaes Van’t Hof crushed Huang and Miller 6-1, 6-1.
Led by nationally-ranked No. 44 junior Leeza Nemchinov, the Tribe women (10-2, 1-0 CAA) dropped only one set in singles competition. Nemchinov defeated Navy’s Sam Dropp 6-1, 7-5 for her 12th-straight singles win, continuing her perfect season in dual-match play. Her teammates quickly followed her example, piling up five consecutive straight-set victories. The lone setback came when freshman Cecily Wuenscher fell behind Navy’s Kristine Rojo, who eventually rallied to take the match 6-7 (4), 7-5, 10-8.
The College continued its hot streak in doubles, winning all three matches and dropping only five games. The freshman duo of Olivia Thaler and Maria Groener started the competition with a 6-1 victory over Rojo and Noelle Kaufmann, improving their doubles record to 9-2 on the season. Nemchinov and senior Jeltje Loomans, the No. 48-ranked pair in the country and current Colonial Athletic Association Doubles Team of the Week, took care of Navy’s Summer Ralston and Claudia Mackenzie 6-2, bringing the Tribe duo’s record to 15-3. Sophomore Mélanie Roy and junior Julia Casselbury completed the Tribe’s 7-0 sweep with a 6-2 triumph over Navy’s Logan Antill and Amanda Keller for their fourth win of the season.
The Tribe men’s team completes its trip to the West Coast when it takes on No. 60 San Diego State on Tuesday at the Aztec Tennis Center, slated for a 2 p.m. PT start. The No. 30 women’s squad puts its racquets down until March 21, when it travels to Houston, Texas for a match against Yale at 11 a.m., followed by a tilt with No. 64 Rice March 22 at 11 a.m.
