WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The William and Mary men's tennis team picked up a Saturday doubleheader sweep of South Carolina State and Howard at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center. The Green and Gold claimed the opening match of the day, 5-2, over the defending MEAC Champion Bulldogs, before bouncing the Bison, 7-0, in the nightcap. The Tribe ran its win streak to three matches and improved to 4-2 on the young season.
Sophomores
Damon Niquet and
Addison Appleby led the way for W&M posting two singles each individually and combining to win both their doubles matches as well. Junior
Scott Huang and freshman
Lars de Boer posted two singles wins apiece in the doubleheader as well.
Against South Carolina State, W&M won the doubles point with 6-3 victories at the top two positions. Freshman
Christian Cargill and senior
Will Juggins ran their undefeated doubles ledger to five matches with a win over Rodney Carey and Martin Figura at No. 1. Appleby and Niquet added the victory at No. 2 over Stanislav Baco and Soufiane Mouline to secure the initial point of the match.
Niquet, de Boer and Huang posted straight-set singles wins at the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 6 posts, respectively to cement the team victory. Niquet and Huang both dropped just one game in their triumphs. Niquet made short work of Baco, 6-0, 6-1, while Huang routed Alekander Stopar bythe same score.
de Boer rounded out the straight-set wins against SCSU as he downed Figura, 6-2, 6-3. Figura was a First-Team All-MEAC selection last season. Appleby rallied for a three-set triumph at No. 4. After dropping the first set to Mouline, 6-3, he bounced back by claiming the final two sets, 6-4, 6-2.
Against Howard, the Tribe dropped just three total games in sweeping the doubles. Appleby and Niquet moved up to the No. 1 spot and enjoyed the same result, running their season mark to 7-0 with a 6-1 victory over Ismael Kaouache and Myron Davis. Pairing together for the first time, the rookie duo of de Boer and
Luqman Ebrahim tallied a 6-2 triumph over William Jones III and Laguna Foster, Jr., at the No. 2 position. Cargill and Huang upped their undefeated ledger to 4-0 with their first dual-match win as a team, dominating Hawkins Owens IV and Nico Sorrell, 6-0, at No. 3.
In singles, the Tribe did not drop a set in winning at all six spots. Senior
Aaron Chaffee posted his second dual-match win in as many tries, rolling to a 6-0, 6-1 win over Sorrell at the No. 6 post. Huang recorded his third straight victory, this time at the No. 5 slot, routing Owens, 6-0, 6-0. He pushed his season ledger to 8-4, including a 4-1 dual-match mark.
Juggins picked up his second straight win and first at the No. 1 position this season. He upended reigning MEAC Rookie of the Year Ismael Kaouache, 6-1, 6-4, for his sixth win. Niquet won for the sixth time in his last seven matches, including his second of the day at No. 2, over Jones, 6-1, 6-1. He sits at 9-4 overall and a team-best 5-1 in dual-match play with the victories on Saturday.
de Boer and Appleby posted wins at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively, for the second time on the day. de Boer tallied his fourth win in the last five matches to start dual competition with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Davis. He moved his season ledger to 9-8. Appleby evened his mark at 7-7 and improved to 3-2 in dual-match play with a 6-2, 7-5 win over Foster.
The Tribe continues its five-match homestand when it welcomes Norfolk State to Williamsburg on Wednesday, Jan. 28. The match carries a 4 p.m. start time at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center.
William and Mary 5, South Carolina State 2
Singles
No. 2 –
Damon Niquet (W&M) def. Stanislav Baco (SCSU) – 6-0, 6-1
No. 3 –
Lars de Boer (W&M) def. Martin Figura (SCSU) – 6-2, 6-3
No. 5 – Jakub Vitek (SCSU) def.
Alec Miller (W&M) – 6-2, 6-2
No. 6 –
Scott Huang (W&M) def. Alekander Stopar (SCSU) – 6-0, 6-1
Doubles
No. 1 – Juggins/Cargill (W&M) def. Carey/Figura (SCSU) – 6-3
No. 2 – Appleby/Niquet (W&M) def. Baco/Mouline (SCSU) – 6-3
No. 3 – Vitek/Diaz (SCSU) def. Chaffee/Ebrahim (W&M) – 6-4
William and Mary 7, Howard 0
Singles
No. 1 –
Will Juggins (W&M) def. Ismael Kaouache (Howard) – 6-1, 6-4
No. 2 –
Damon Niquet (W&M) def. William Jones III (Howard) – 6-1, 6-1
No. 3 –
Lars de Boer (W&M) def. Myron Davis (Howard) – 6-4, 6-2
No. 5 –
Scott Huang (W&M) def. Hawkins Owens IV (Howard) – 6-0, 6-0
No. 6 –
Aaron Chaffee (W&M) def. Nico Sorrell (Howard) – 6-0, 6-1
Doubles
No. 1 – Appleby/Niquet (W&M) def. Kaouache/Davis (Howard) – 6-1
No. 2 – de Boer/Ebrahim (W&M) def. Jones/Foster (Howard) – 6-2
No. 3 – Cargill/Huang (W&M) def. Sorrell/Owens (Howard) – 6-0
