William and Mary (3-15) celebrated its senior day and lost its final home match of the season against Old Dominion (12-9) Sunday, April 14 at the Millie West Tennis Facility. It was the last match of the regular season for both teams. The Tribe looked to end a tough season with on a high note, while the Monarchs looked to notch a win after a 4-3 loss to Drake.
Junior Brenden Volk and Sophomore Chen Ruo played Monarchs Aziz Kijametovic and Francois Musitelli at court one. The Tribe players ran away with a 5-2 lead in the set, poised to clinch the first doubles point. They finished their set 6-3 and did exactly that.
At the second court, sophomore Sebastian Quiros and freshman Oren Vasser played Monarchs Nicola Vidal and Luca Maldoner. They had a back and forth battle on court two, with the Tribe players finding themselves down 3-4 heading into the latter half of the set. They ultimately fell 6-3, giving the Monarchs their first point in the doubles set.
The doubles point came down to the outcome of court three, where freshman Danny Pellerito continued to build off his return with sophomore Finbar Talcott. They played Monarchs Jannik Giesse and Oliver Tobisch. The underclassmen found themselves down 3-1 early in the set. They traded games to go down 4-2. The deficit extended to 5-2 with another game victory by the Monarchs. The Tribe fought back for a 5-4 score. The Monarchs won off a controversial call, which was contested by the Tribe to replay a point due to a racket touching the net. The call was not overturned, however, and the Monarchs won their set and the doubles point, starting the day off at 1-0 against a frustrated Tribe.
At the end of the doubles sets, the team recognized Tribe seniors Tristan Bautil and Michael Ruamthong. The singles matches continued, featuring the same six players from the doubles play.
Pellerito played Tobisch at No. 6. The freshman fell down 3-0 in to begin the set. Tobisch ultimately took the set 6-1. Tobisch downed Pellerito 6-1 in the second set as well, scoring the Monarchs their second point of the day.
Vasser and Maldoner squared off at the No. 4 spot. The freshman took a 2-1 lead, breaking his opponent in the third game, and then following up with another victory to take a 3-1 lead. Maldoner responded with back to back wins, breaking Vasser and tying the set 3-3. Maldoner ultimately won his set 6-3, taking five games in a row. The Monarch player rode his momentum into the second set, going up 4-1. Traded games saw Maldoner up 5-2. Vasser won his eighth game, but Maldoner finished it in the ninth, taking his second set 6-3. With this victory, the Monarchs gained their third point of the day.
Talcott played Musitelli at No. 2, where Musitelli clinched the first game through some unwieldy hits from Talcott. Talcott’s serve failed him in the second game, and he fell 3-0. Talcott took the fourth game convincingly, but Musitelli responded and led 4-1 in the set, and the two players traded games again to put Talcott down 5-2. Musitelli closed out his set 6-2. Talcott continued to battle in the second set, going down 3-2. Musitelli ultimately regained control with the next two games, taking a 5-2 lead. Although Talcott fought off elimination in the eighth game, Musitelli overcame him in the ninth, winning his set 6-3, and his match. This match sealed a Monarchs victory on the day, 4-0.
No. 5 saw Ruo against Vidal. Ruo trailed 4-1 in the first set. Vidal didn’t let up and won the set 6-1. Ruo fought in his second set, going down 3-2 to start. He’d ultimately lose 6-4, putting the Tribe down 5-0 in the match.
At court one, Quiros played Kijametovic. Quiros trailed 3-2 in the first set. More back and forth competition saw the first singles player fall to a 5-4 deficit. The sophomore won the next two games, dropping his racket on the way to a 6-5 lead. Kijametovic didn’t fall in the twelfth game however, and the set went to tiebreaker. Quiros fell 6-0 down in the tiebreaker, and rally back to 6-3 before losing the set on a let ball. The second set was not forgiving to Qurios; Kijametovic beat him 6-1, putting the aggregate score at 6-0 for the Monarchs.
No. 3 featured Volk against Giesse, with a competitive beginning to their first set, and Volk led 4-3 going into the final games. Volk took his lead all the way into a set victory, 6-4. Volk continued the onslaught, starting off the second set up 3-0. The second set went into a tiebreaker, with all other matches finished at that point. Volk took the tiebreaker, the set, and the Tribe’s only match of the day, making the score 6-1.
The Tribe finished its regular season 3-15. They will enter the Colonial Athletic Association Championships April 18. For their part, the Monarchs finished with a 12-9 record on the season, and play in Conference USA Tournament April 19.
