Sunday, April 2, William and Mary Men’s Tennis (8-9, 3-1 CAA) handily defeated Navy (14-18, 3-0 Patriot) 6-1 at McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Following its 4-2 win against Elon on Saturday, April 1, the Tribe was poised to carry momentum into its matchup against Navy.
William and Mary took an early lead, winning the doubles point behind victories at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles matches. Playing together for the first time at the No. 3 spot, freshman Albert Hansen and sophomore Sean Joseph dominated in their match against Navy’s No. 3 line 6-0, not dropping a single match.
At the No. 2 doubles spot, graduate student Joseph Brailovsky and sophomore Alexander Karman won their matchup against Navy freshmen Matthew McNair and Nathan Nguyen 6-2, clinching the doubles point for the Tribe. The duo of Brailovsky and Karman improved to 4-2 at the No. 2 doubles spot for the season.
Brailovsky carried momentum from his doubles win into his matchup against Navy junior Nicholas Nguyen at the No. 2 singles spot. Brailovsky comfortably won 6-1, 6-2 to clinch the Tribe’s second point on the day. This marks Brailovsky’s third consecutive win at the No. 2 singles spot, improving his team-leading singles record to 19-11.
Hansen increased William and Mary’s lead to 3-0 with a victory at the No. 6 singles line. Dropping only two games in the match, Hansen won his bout 6-1, 6-1. This marks Hansen’s eighth win of the season and second in dual-match play.
Graduate student Daniel Pellerito officially clinched the Tribe victory 4-0 with a resounding straight sets win at the No. 5 singles spot. Winning his sets 6-0, 6-2, Pellerito notched his 11th win of the season and second on the fifth line.
Karman tacked on another point for William and Mary at the No. 4 singles spot to drive the lead to 5-0, defeating McNair in a straight sets victory, winning 6-0, 6-4. This win improved his record at line four to 3-0 and secured him his 11th win of the season.
Senior George Davis claimed the Tribe’s final point of the matchup in a comeback three set win against Nguyen. After losing the first set, 7-5, Davis won the second, 6-4, forcing a third set. Davis claimed the point in the third set super breaker, 10-1. This marked Davis’ eighth win of the season and seventh at the No. 1 singles spot.
In a fitting win for the Tribe on Senior Day, William and Mary celebrated its strong victory against Navy and honored Davis, Brailovsky, Pellerito and Silva for their accomplishments on and off the court.
William and Mary will host Richmond in its next matchup Wednesday, April 5 at McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center in Williamsburg, Virginia.