Tribe unable to tame Dragons, loses 4-3 to Drexel

Saturday, April 12, William and Mary men’s tennis (5-13, 2-5 CAA) was bested by Coastal Athletic Association opponent Drexel (10-5, 2-2 CAA) 4-3 at the Vidas Courts in Philadelphia, Pa. The loss marked the Tribe’s first-ever against Drexel. It entered the weekend’s matchup sporting an 8-0 record in the series.

The afternoon began with the doubles portion of the match. For the Tribe, the No. 1 court featured sophomore Nikita Bortnichek and freshman Raz Katz. The No. 2 court played host to the duo of senior Sean Joseph and freshman Gur Trakhtenberg, while sophomore Oliver Hague and junior Albert Hansen manned court No. 3. 

After a hard-fought opening match, Bortnichek and Katz fell 6-4 to Drexel graduate students Alex De Sousa and Roman Lafond. However, Trakhtenberg and Joseph responded with a 7-6 (5) tiebreaker victory over sophomore Will Burridge and senior Hussein El Tawil. 

Hague and Hansen went on to secure the doubles point by racking up their third doubles win of the season, beating the Drexel duo of junior Antonio Franquis and sophomore Josue Guzman 6-3.

During the singles matches, the No. 1 match saw Trakhtenberg keep the Tribe’s momentum alive. He won the first set 6-4 over de Sousa and, despite suffering a 6-4 loss in the second set, Trakhtenberg clinched the match by taking the third set 7-6 (0).

On the No. 2 court, Hague faced off against El Tawil. The latter took a hotly-contested first set 7-6 (9) before beating Hague 6-1 in the second set. The No. 3 match marked another tough defeat for the Tribe, as Burridge handed Bortnichek a 6-4, 6-4 straight set loss that evened the overall score at 2-2. 

The No. 4 court saw Hansen turn in a dominating performance against Drexel junior Egor Kirakosov. He easily secured the first set, winning 6-2, before taking the second set 6-1. Hansen’s ninth singles win of the season gave the Tribe a 3-2 lead.

In the No. 5 match, Lafond defeated Joseph in straight sets, winning 7-6, 6-1 and bringing the Tribe and the Dragons into a 3-3 tie. Minutes later, Guzman bested Katz 6-4, 6-4 in straight sets on the No. 6 court, securing the 4-3 team victory for the Dragons.

The Green and Gold will conclude the regular season Tuesday, April 15, against the Richmond Spiders (9-7, 2-2 CAA) at the Mackesy Tennis Center in Williamsburg, Va.