WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - Amid an energy-filled and intense environment, the William and Mary men's tennis team displayed the mettle and Will befitting a champion, and thanks to that Will (Juggins), the Tribe captured the 2015 Colonial Athletic Association Championship on Sunday afternoon. One year after being eliminated from the CAA Tournament by Charleston, the Green and Gold exacted a bit of revenge with a 4-1 victory over the Cougars at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center. Senior
Will Juggins left his mark in program history clinching its first CAA crown since 2005 and fourth all-time with a win at No. 2 singles. W&M, which as a result secured the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship, improved to 16-12, while the Cougars fell to 15-10.
“This victory was the culmination of a lot of sacrifice from each player and overcoming countless adversity together toward a common goal,” head coach
Peter Daub said. “I am so proud of our players and coaches, and incredbility appreciative that they allowed me to be part of this special championship ride to NCAAs.”
Leading 3-1 after singles wins from sophomore
Damon Niquet (No. 4) and freshman
Alec Miller (No. 6), the Tribe needed just one more match to claim the CAA title, and the opportunity fell to Juggins. The four-time All-CAA senior rose to the occasion. He claimed the first set, 6-4, from Rodrigo Encinas, and in the final game of the second set, Juggins broke the two-time all-league pick for a 6-4 win, setting off the Tribe's championship celebration. Fellow seniors
Aaron Chaffee and
Zach Braig mobbed Juggins in jubilation and were quickly joined the rest of the Green and Gold. It marked Juggins' 14th win of the year and 10th in dual-match competition.
The Green and Gold claimed the all-important doubles point in a loud and electric atmosphere to start things off at the Millie West Tennis Facility. The senior duo of Chaffee and Juggins showed that veteran maturity, breaking open a 5-5 match with three straight games to claim the first spot, 8-5, over CofC's Brice Allanic and Alon Faiman. With the win in a match-up of All-CAA doubles teams, the Tribe tandem improved to 10-5 overall and 8-4 at No. 1.
Leading by a break at both two and three doubles, it was a race to the finish with freshman
Christian Cargill and Niquet clinching the point with their third win in as many chances at the CAA Championship. The Green and Gold twosome upended Charleston's Josh Record and Encinas, 8-5, for its fifth straight win. Cargill and Niquet improved to 7-1 on the year with the win over a Charleston duo that entered the match at 11-1.
Midway into the opening set of singles competition, the skies in Williamsburg opened, moving the remainder of the heated altercation indoors to the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center. The change in venue did little to halt the Tribe momentum or quell the heightened excitement. Niquet and Miller were the first two finishers indoors; quickly increasing the W&M lead to 3-0.
Niquet played a key roll in singles for the second straight day, pushing the margin to 2-0 with a straight sets win at No. 4. After winning the opening set, 6-4, the Tribe sophomore blitzed the Cougars' Vasily Kichigan with an unblemished second set, 6-0. Kichigan was one day removed from clinching Charleston's 4-3 upset of No. 63-ranked and two-time defending CAA Champion UNCW. With the win, Niquet improved to 16-9 overall and an impressive 7-1 at No. 4.
Miller made it an individually perfect three-for-three in the CAA Championship with his third singles win in as many days. The Tribe rookie rallied from an early break-deficit in both sets. After taking the opening set, 6-4, Miller found himself in a 2-0 hole against Charleston's Garrett Gordon in the second, before winning six of the final seven games on the way to increasing W&M's advantage to 3-0. Miller improved his team-best dual-match record to 15-9, while upping his ledger to 18-11 overall.
The men's tennis CAA title coupled with the women's earlier in the day brought W&M's overall league title total to six, which equaled the school record set in 1991-92, 2003-04 and 2012-13. The Tribe Athletics 2014-15 season of six CAA titles is one of only five in CAA history. By virtue of winning the CAA Championship, the Tribe secured the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship and will make its 11th appearance in the national tournament. The NCAA selection show is set for Tuesday, April 28, at 5:30 p.m., and will be streamed live on NCAA.com.
#3 William and Mary 4, #4 Charleston 1
Singles
No. 2 –
Will Juggins (W&M) def. Rodrigo Encinas (CofC) – 6-4, 6-4
No. 4 –
Damon Niquet (W&M) def. Vasily Kichigan (CofC) – 6-4, 6-0
No. 5 – Zack Lewis (CofC) def.
Lars de Boer (W&M) – 7-5, 6-3
No. 6 –
Alec Miller (W&M) def. Garrett Gordon (CofC) – 6-4, 6-3
Finishing Order: 4, 6
Doubles
No. 1 – Chaffee/Juggins (W&M) def. Allanic/Faiman (CofC) – 8-5
No. 2 – Appleby/de Boer (W&M) vs. Ghriskey/Lewis (CofC) – DNF, 7-6
No. 3 – Cargill/Niquet (W&M) def. Record/Encinas (CofC) – 8-5
Finishing Order: 1, 3*
