WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The William and Mary men's tennis team begins the 2014 season attempting to return to the top of the Colonial Athletic Association mountain. The Green and Gold welcomes by its core of players, which includes the three-member senior class of
John Banks,
Ben Guthrie and
Ben Hoogland, and adds to it a talented pair of rookies.
Last season, the Tribe posted 12 dual-match wins, including victories in five of its final seven matches on the way to the CAA Championship match. Despite falling in the conference title match to nationally-ranked UNCW, W&M made its first appearance in the championship tilt since 2010.
Banks, Guthrie and Hoogland provide the strong leadership base of a senior class that owns 34 dual-match wins in its time on campus. The Tribe roster also includes of trio of juniors in
Zach Braig,
Aaron Chaffee and
Will Juggins that add even more quality to the Tribe's talented upperclassmen group.
An ace in the classroom, Banks has demonstrated the qualities of a dependable player in the Tribe lineup. During the fall, he was named the winner of the prestigious Robert Usry Award and also earned Phi Beta Kappa honors at W&M. On the court, Banks owns 47 career singles wins, including team-leading totals each of the last two seasons. As a junior in 2013, he was a Third-Team All-CAA selection and clinched the Tribe's semifinal win over the James Madison with a three-set victory. Banks tallied 21 singles wins last season and led the Tribe with a 15-9 dual-match ledger. He posted key victories in the Tribe's wins over James Madison, Illinois State and Troy to go along with a win against No. 27 Notre Dame.
Guthrie has battled injuries throughout his Tribe career, but along the way has flashed excellence on court. Last season, the Plano, Texas, native posted a 12-8 ledger and knocked off a trio of nationally-ranked opponents. Also during his junior campaign, Guthrie advanced to the quarterfinals of the ITA Atlantic Region Singles Championship. This season, he owns a 4-2 ledger, including wining his flight at the UVA Fall Classic. A fixture toward the top of the W&M lineup during his career, Guthrie owns 18 victories in the top three singles positions over his career.
Last season, Hoogland earned All-CAA honors in both singles and doubles competition. A second-team all-league choice in singles competition, he posted a 14-8 dual-match ledger in 2013 and owns a team-best 59 career singles wins entering this season. Hoogland tied for a team lead in singles victories with 21 as a sophomore and posted 17 in 2012-13. At the Wolfpack Invitational on Jan. 10, the Glenview, Ill., native posted his first career win over a nationally-ranked singles player, knocking off the No. 83-rated player from N.C. State.
Juggins and Chaffee highlight the junior class and both have the ability to play toward the top of the Green and Gold lineup. Through his first two seasons with the Green and Gold, Juggins has battled through injuries, while racking up 18 wins. After missing the start of the dual-match season as a sophomore, he returned to the lineup and finished the season playing at the No. 1 and No. 2 singles positions at the CAA Championship. During the fall, Juggins tallied four singles victories.
Chaffee played his first season with the Tribe as a sophomore after transferring from DePaul. The Frisco, Texas native won seven singles matches in 2012-13, but did most of his damage in doubles competition, earning First-Team All-CAA honors. He led the Tribe with a 13-9 dual-match doubles record and ranked second overall on the team with 18 total pairs wins. This season, Chaffee ranked second on the team with five fall singles victories and also won his flight at the UVA Fall Classic.
Braig provides the Tribe with great leadership within the junior class. Last season, he picked up a dual-match win in the Green and Gold's victory over Morgan State. During the Wolfpack Invitational on Jan. 11, he tallied his first double victory of the season.
Sophomore
Scott Huang and redshirt freshman
Austin Davidow give the Tribe lineup more depth. As a rookie in 2012-13, Huang won 12 singles matches, including eight of the dual-match variety. He clinched the Tribe's victory over Patriot League Champion Navy in 2013 and provided a lift with a win at the No. 5 position in the Tribe's 4-1 triumph over Troy at the Blue-Gray Classic. This fall, Huang racked up a trio of singles victories and five doubles wins.
Davidow redshirted his first season on campus in 2012-13 and saw his first action this fall. He competed in both the Tribe and Wolfpack Invitationals, picking up his first doubles win in the event at N.C. State this past weekend.
Freshmen
Addison Appleby and
Damon Niquet joined the Green and Gold program with impressive prep credentials and displayed their skills during the fall campaign. Appleby was a five-star recruit according to the Tennis Recruiting Network and was rated as high as No. 58 in the country. He posted a 4-3 singles ledger during the fall, including a 2-1 mark at the Tribe Invitational.
Niquet was a two-time high school All-American as a prep and garnered Wisconsin Player of the Year accolades on two occasions. He was rated as high as No. 9 nationally by the Tennis Recruiting Network during his juniors career. The Milwaukee, Wis., native leads the Tribe with a 7-6 singles mark and is tied for the team lead with seven doubles wins.
In doubles competition, Banks tops Tribe in career victories with 56, while Guthrie and Hoogland own ledgers of 51-41 and 44-40, respectively in pairs' competition. Banks and Hoogland spent a good part of the fall campaign pairing together and currently lead the Tribe with seven doubles victories. They claimed a flight title at the UVA Fall Classic.
Guthrie has spent part of his career in the national rankings in doubles and last season posted a 17-10 record. He and Niquet paired together during the tournament season and racked up an impressive 5-2 ledger, including a 3-1 mark at the Wolfpack Invitational.
Chaffee and Hoogland both return as All-CAA players in doubles competition. Chaffee won a team-best 12 matches playing at the No. 1 doubles position in his first season with the Tribe. Huang provided W&M with a solid 12-10 doubles record as a freshman, which included a 7-5 mark in dual-match play.
The Tribe will play 19 of its 26 matches in 2014 in the friendly confines of either the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center or the Millie West Tennis Facility. In total, the Tribe plays six matches against teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season and five contests against teams currently in the ITA National Rankings. W&M will have road contests with No. 1 Virginia (March 30), No. 13 Pepperdine (March 1), No. 29 Notre Dame (Jan. 17) and No. 32 Northwestern (Jan. 19), while hosting No. 54 Princeton (Jan. 30).
The Green and Gold will kick off its dual-match campaign with a doubleheader at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center on Tuesday, Jan. 14. The Tribe hosts Norfolk State at 10 a.m., before facing Campbell at 5 p.m. Highlighting the Tribe schedule once again, W&M will host the 2014 CAA Men's and Women's Tennis Championships at the Millie West Tennis Facility, April 17-20.
