WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The William and Mary men's tennis team got back on the winning track with a 6-1 win over six-time defending MEAC Champion South Carolina State thanks to the strength of its singles play on Saturday morning. After dropping the doubles point in a trio of close matches, the Green and Gold bounced back by winning all six singles positions on the way to improving to 3-5 on the year.

The Tribe dropped the doubles point to open the match as SCSU picked up a pair of narrow wins at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions. Juniors Will Juggins and Aaron Chaffee saw their four-match winning streak come to an end at the hands of Martin Kobza and Khalil Naji, 6-4, at the top post. Senior Ben Guthrie and freshman Damon Niquet quickly evened pairs' competition with a 6-4 win over Martin Figura and Daniel Vala at the No. 2 position. It marked the Tribe duo's second straight victory as they improved to 7-3 on the year. The initial point of the match came down to a tiebreaker at No. 3. Stanislav Baco and Jiri Stiburek squeaked out a 6-5 (5) win over senior Ben Hoogland and John Banks to give the visitors an early 1-0 lead.

Guthrie and Hoogland wasted little time putting the Tribe on top with convincing singles wins at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. Both players dropped just one game in picking up the triumphs. Playing his first match of the season at No. 1, Guthrie rolled to a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Martin Kobza for his third straight victory. The Tribe senior improved to 8-4 overall and 4-2 in dual-match play. Hoogland won by an identical score, 6-0, 6-1, over Khalil Najui at No. 2. He notched his seventh win overall and third in dual competition.

Niquet and Banks cemented the Tribe victory with wins at the No. 5 and No. 6 posts, respectively. Banks won his second straight, bouncing Martin Figura, 6-0, 6-4, to up the Tribe advantage to 3-1. He improved to 4-3 in dual-match competition with his eighth win of the season. Niquet clinched the Tribe victory, downing Marius Dragoi, 6-3, 6-3, for his team-leading 12th singles win of the year. The Green and Gold rookie improved to an impressive 5-2 in dual-match play.

Freshman Addison Appleby and Juggins rounded out the Tribe singles sweep. Appleby defeated Stanislav Baco, 6-2, 6-4, at No. 4 for his fifth win of the year and first career dual-match victory. Juggins needed three sets, but rallied for a come-from-behind victory, pulling out the super tiebreaker third set, 10-5. SCSU's Daniel Vala took the first set in a tiebreaker from Juggins, 6-5 (4), before the Tribe junior bounced back with a 6-4 win in the second. It marked Juggins' second win in the last three matches and his sixth overall on the year.

The Green and Gold will conclude its fourth-match week with a Sunday, Feb. 2, doubleheader at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center. W&M welcomes Temple to Williamsburg for a 9 a.m. match, before squaring off with Howard at 2 p.m. Live stats for both matches will be available at TribeAthletics.com.

No. 1 – Ben Guthrie (W&M) def. Martin Kobza (SCSU) – 6-0, 6-1

No. 2 – Ben Hoogland (W&M) def. Khalil Naji (SCSU) – 6-0, 6-1

No. 3 – Will Juggins (W&M) def. Daniel Vala (SCSU) – 5-6 (4), 6-4, 10-5

No. 4 – Addison Appleby (W&M) def. Stanislav Baco (SCSU) – 6-2, 6-4

No. 5 – Damon Niquet (W&M) def. Marius Dragoi (SCSU) – 6-3, 6-3

No. 6 – John Banks (W&M) def. Martin Figura (SCSU) – 6-0, 6-4

Finishing Order: 1, 2, 6, 5*, 4, 3

No. 1 – Kobza/Naji (SCSU) def. Chaffee/Juggins (W&M) – 6-4

No. 2 – Guthrie/Niquet (W&M) def. Vala/Figura (SCSU) – 6-4

No. 3 – Baco/Stiburek (SCSU) def. Banks/Hoogland (W&M) – 6-5 (5)

Finishing Order: 1, 2, 3*