CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Facing its second straight national top 30 opponent, the William and Mary men's tennis team turned in a strong showing, but could not overcome No. 29-ranked Harvard, 5-2, on Saturday afternoon. Sophomore Damon Niquet led the way for W&M with wins in both singles and doubles. Despite winning a pair of singles matches and having another three decided by sets of 6-4 and 7-6, the Tribe dropped its second straight, while Harvard won its season opener.

In doubles, sophomore Addison Appleby and Niquet remained perfect with a 6-3 win over Grant Solomon and Conor Haughey at the No. 3 position. The Tribe pair improved to 3-0 in dual-match competition, 4-0 this season and 7-0 in the last two years. Harvard thought responded with wins at the top two positions, including a 6-4 victory at the No. 2 slot, to claim the initial point of the match.

Niquet and freshman Alec Miller posted singles wins for the Green and Gold to improved to 2-1 in dual-match competition. Niquet upended Shaun Chaudhuri, 7-5, 6-3, at the No. 4 slot to push his singles ledger to 6-4. After dropping the first set, 6-3, Miller rallied to defeated Andrew Miller, 6-3, 6-4, in the final two sets at the No. 6 position. The Tribe rookie improved to 5-3 on the year.

Despite losing in straight sets at the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 5 positions, the Green and Gold put up quiet a fight. At No. 2, senior Will Juggins suffered a narrow 7-6 (2), 6-4 setback to Alex Steinroeder, who was ranked No. 9 in the ITA Northeast Region. Appleby battled back and forth with Brian Yeung, before dropping a tight, 6-4, 7-6 decision. At No. 5, freshman Lars de Boer also lost by a 6-4, 7-6 score line, falling to Solomon.

W&M wraps up its season-opening four-match road swing against ACC counterpart Boston College on Sunday. The match carries a 1 p.m. start time at Harvard's Murr Center in Cambridge, Mass.

Singles

No. 1 – #57 Denis Nguyen (Harvard) def. Christian Cargill (W&M) – 6-4, 6-2

No. 2 – Alex Steinroeder (Harvard) def. Will Juggins (W&M) – 7-6 (2), 6-4

No. 3 – Brian Yeung (Harvard) def. Addison Appleby (W&M) – 6-4, 7-6

No. 4 – Damon Niquet (W&M) def. Shaun Chaudhuri (Harvard) – 7-5, 6-3

No. 5 – Grant Solomon (Harvard) def. Lars de Boer (W&M) – 6-4, 7-6 (3)

No. 6 – Alec Miller (W&M) def. Andrew Ball (Harvard) – 3-6, 6-3, 6-4

No. 1 - #7 Nguyen-Yeung (Harvard) def. Chaffee/Cargill (W&M) – 6-2

No. 2 – Beltrame/Hu (Harvard) def. Juggins/Huang (W&M) – 6-4

No. 3 – Appleby/Niquet (W&M) def. Solomon/Haughey (Harvard) – 6-3