WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The William and Mary men's tennis team dispatched of in-state foe Liberty, 4-0, on Wednesday afternoon at the
Millie West Tennis Facility. The Green and Gold claimed the doubles point and received straight-set singles wins from senior
Will Juggins, sophomore
Damon Niquet and freshman
Alec Miller to extinguish the Flames. W&M improved to 13-11 overall, while LU fell to 12-9.
The Tribe posted matching 6-3 wins at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles to claim the initial point of the match. W&M jumped out to 4-1 leads at both spots on the way to victory. At No. 2, the Green and Gold pairing of sophomore
Addison Appleby and freshman
Lars de Boer bounced Sam Matheson and Jorge Azuero to improve to 3-1 on the year.
W&M's No. 3 duo of Niquet and freshman
Christian Cargill upped its record to 3-1 as well, downing Liberty's David Bush and Diego Castano to clinch the doubles point. The doubles win for Cargill was his team-leading 26th of the year. That number not only ranks 11th all-time on the Tribe's single-season doubles wins list, but is also the third most for a W&M freshman in program history.
In singles, Juggins quickly pushed W&M lead to 2-0 with a quick win at the No. 2 spot. The Tribe senior downed Liberty's Dillon Segur, 6-3, 6-2, for his 13th win of the season. It also marked Juggin's sixth win at No. 2 singles.
Niquet knocked off the reigning Big South Player of the Week in Egon Samaai at the No. 4 spot. After winning the opening set by a 6-4 score line, Niquet jumped out to a 3-0 advantage in the second. Samaai closed to within 4-3 in the second set, but the Tribe sophomore won the final two games in claiming the victory. He improved to 14-8 overall and a perfect 5-0 at No. 4. Niquet owns victories in five of his last six matches.
Miller clinched Tribe win with a straight-sets victory at No. 6 over Diego Castano. The counterparts battle into a first-set tiebreaker, before the Tribe freshman blew the doors off, winning seven straight points to claim a 7-1 triumph. Leading 3-2 in the second set, Miller won the final three games, serving out the eighth for his team-leading 12th dual-match win of the season. He also upped his season ledger to 15-10.
The Tribe closes out the regular season when it hosts Hampton Roads rival and No. 48-ranked Old Dominion on Saturday afternoon. The match is slated for a 2 p.m. start time at the
Millie West Tennis Facility and will be run concurrent to the women's tennis match with the Monarchs as well. Saturday serves as both Senior Day and Alumni Weekend for the men's tennis program. Following doubles competition, the Green and Gold will honor its three-member class of
Zach Braig,
Aaron Chaffee and
Will Juggins.
William and Mary 4, Liberty 0
Singles
No. 2 –
Will Juggins (W&M) def. Dillon Segur (Liberty) – 6-3, 6-2
No. 4 –
Damon Niquet (W&M) def. Egon Samaai (Liberty) – 6-4, 6-3
No. 5 –
Lars de Boer (W&M) vs. Jason Burgess (Liberty) – DNF, 3-6, 6-3
No. 6 –
Alec Miller (W&M) def. Diego Castano (Liberty) – 7-6 (1), 6-2
Finishing Order: 2, 4, 6*
Doubles
No. 1 – Chaffee/Juggins (W&M) vs. Segur/Samaai (Liberty) – DNF, 4-5
No. 2 – Appleby/de Boer (W&M) def. Azuero/Matheson (Liberty) – 6-3
No. 3 – Cargill/Niquet (W&M) def. Castano/Bush (Liberty) – 6-3
Finishing Order: 2, 3*
