The men’s team bounced back ahead of next week’s Colonial Athletic Association Championships with two much-needed home wins this weekend, topping Navy 6-1 before defeating CAA rival James Madison 5-2. William and Mary, loser of five of its last six matches, built some late season momentum with strong play throughout the team.
Saturday the College (14-8, 1-1 CAA) ended the Midshipmen’s hot streak that had seen Navy (18-8, 3-0 American) take 11 of their last 12 matches. The young doubles pair of freshman Tristan Bautil and sophomore Ryan Newman, playing together for the first time since January, rallied from 4-5 down to claim a 7-5 win and take the doubles point against the Midshipmen. Afterward, the Tribe made quick work of Navy’s singles players: junior Damon Niquet and sophomore Alec Miller only dropped four games between them, and junior Aiden Talcott closed the deal with a 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 3. Talcott and Miller are the Tribe’s wins leaders of the year, with 18 victories each.
In the last match of the day, sophomore and reigning CAA Rookie of the Year Christian Cargill was unable to complete the sweep, taking a tight first set over Austin Jones of the Midshipmen before losing the second set and falling after a tense 10-7 final set.
Saturday the College (14-8, 1-1 CAA) ended the Midshipmen’s hot streak that had seen Navy (18-8, 3-0 American) take 11 of their last 12 matches.
Cargill also dropped a close match after holding a first-set lead in Sunday’s senior day match against JMU (9-11, 1-4), coming out flat in the second set before barely missing out in the third set 11-13. Cargill has struggled recently at No. 1 singles, only winning two of his last 11.
On the doubles side, Cargill is part of a dominant Tribe setup that is 14-7 on doubles points of the year. He and senior Scott Huang notched two wins this weekend, including a 7-5 triumph against Navy and a 6-3 win over the Dukes. Other Sunday winners included Bautil and Newman and a combination of Niquet and sophomore Lars de Boer as the Tribe took home all three doubles matches. Huang brought home a win at No. 6 singles on the College’s senior day that also featured wins from Talcott at No. 5, Miller at No. 3 and junior Addison Appleby’s 6-3, 6-2 triumph at No. 2.
On the doubles side, Cargill is part of a dominant Tribe setup that is 14-7 on doubles points of the year. He and senior Scott Huang notched two wins this weekend, including a 7-5 triumph against Navy and a 6-3 win over the Dukes.
The Tribe will begin their CAA title defense this weekend, when the quarterfinals begin April 22. The tournament continues through the final April 24. The College cruised to last year’s CAA title, losing no more than one game in each match, but may face a tougher test this year after losing 2-5 to conference rival Elon earlier this month.
