UPDATE: Due to inclement weather, the quarterfinals were moved indoor on Friday. The Tribe takes on Drexel at 10 a.m. at the Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center in Greensboro, N.C. UNCW and Delaware will play at hte same time. Charleston/JMU and Elon/Hofstra are set for 12:45 p.m.

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The William & Mary men's tennis team looks to defend its Colonial Athletic Association title from last season when it opens play at the conference championship on Friday morning. The Tribe is the event's No. 4 seed and takes on No. 5 Drexel at 9 a.m. at the Burlington Tennis Center.

Elon University is the host of the 2016 CAA Championship at the Burlington Tennis Center and the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center, April 22-24. The CAA semifinals are set for Saturday, April 23, with the championship to follow on Sunday, April 24. Both rounds are schedule for 10 a.m. start times and will be played at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center. The winner of the CAA Championship receives the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Admission is free to every day of the championship. For more information, log on the Tennis Championship page on CAASports.com. Click HERE to check out league's championship preview and HERE for the live stats links.
 
Scouting the Tribe
W&M closed out the regular season at 14-8 on the year, following wins over Navy and James Madison last weekend. The Tribe spent six weeks in the national poll, including a season-best ranking of No. 60 on March 1. It marked the first national rankings for the Green and Gold since 2011. Included in the Tribe's haul of victories this season was the program's best nationally-ranked win since 2008. W&M upset No. 44 Drake, 4-2, at the Rice Invitational on March 27. Despite a lineup that features three sophomores and three juniors, W&M is an experience group in terms of the post season. All three sophomores (Christian Cargill, Lars de Boer and Alec Miller) were in the Tribe's championship lineup a season ago, while juniors Addison Appleby and Damon Niquet were both in the W&M lineup during the last two CAA Tournaments. Junior Aidan Talcott, who transferred from Denver, is no stranger in the championship spotlight as well, having helped the Pioneers to the Summit League Championship in 2014. Niquet, Talcott and Miller lead the Tribe with 18 singles wins apiece. Niquet is currently on a 14-match winning streak and leads the Tribe with a 14-1 dual-match ledger. Talcott is 14-4 in dual-match play primarily at the No. 5 spot, while Miller is 12-7 in duals. Cargill and senior Scott Huang comprise the Tribe's top doubles team at 10-4 on the year. The duo earned CAA Team of the Week honors for the second time on Tuesday after posting wins at the No. 1 spot against both Navy and JMU in helping W&M to the doubles point. Sophomore Ryan Newman and freshman Tristan Bautil were also strong in doubles last week, collecting two wins at the second spot.
 
All-CAA Awards
A trio of Tribe players earned All-CAA honors when the league announced its awards on Wednesday. Sophomore Christian Cargill was a First Team All-CAA pick in singles for the second straight year. He became the eighth player in program history to earn two All-CAA First Team singles honors, joining a list that includes Will Harvie (1986, 1987), Scott Mackesy (1987, 1990), Trevor Spracklin (1998, 1999, 2001), current Tribe head coach Jeff Kader (2003, 2004, 2005), Alex Cojanu (2007, 2008), Keziel Juneau (2009, 2010) and Jamie Whiteford (2010, 2012). Cargill won 12 matches, including nine at the top spot this season. He clinched W&M's win over No. 44 Drake with a come-from-behind three-set win. Cargill, who was named the CAA Player of the Week on Feb. 3, leads W&M with 19 doubles wins this season and has 49 over his first two seasons. Sophomore Alec Miller, who went 3-0 at last season's CAA Champoinship, earned the first All-CAA honor of his career as part of the all-league second team in singles. He tied for the team lead with 18 singles wins, including a 12-7 dual-match mark playing primarily at the top three spots. Miller won both his CAA matches this season, including a three-set triumph over fellow All-CAA Second Team selection Robert Lindgrin of Elon. Cargill and senior Scott Huang garnered All-CAA Second Team doubles honors, closing the season strong. The duo earned a pair of CAA Team of the Week accolades over the final month of the year. They upset the No. 53-ranked Texas Tech pair at the Rice Invitational in helping W&M to the doubles point in the match with the No. 9-ranked Red Raiders. The doubles award was the first all-league honor for Huang, who also earned a spot on the CAA All-Academic Team. Huang is a four-time W&M Provost Award winner with a grade point average of better than 3.5, while also being a three-time ITA Scholar-Athlete pick.
 
Post-Seasoned Head Coach
W&M is in its first season under former Tribe standout Jeff Kader, who rejoined the program in August after five years as the top man at UTSA. Kader is no stranger to postseason success both with the Tribe and in the coaching ranks. As a senior in 2005, he led W&M to upset wins over No. 62 Old Dominion and No. 38 VCU in the CAA Semifinals and Championship, respectively. It marked the Tribe's first CAA title since 1990. Kader went a perfect 3-0 at No. 1 singles and 3-0 in doubles on his way to being named the most outstanding performer of the championship. He upset the No. 20-ranked player in the country from VCU and the No. 33-ranked player from ODU during the championship run. As a head coach, Kader led UTSA to conference championships in 2012 and 2015. The Roadrunners won the Southland Conference title in 2012, and in its first season as a member of Conference USA in 2015, took home the league championship behind upset wins over No. 58 Old Dominion and No. 54 Rice in the semifinals and championship, respectively.
 
W&M's Record in the CAA Tournament

All-Time Record	37-27
Quarterfinals	19-4
Semifinals	10-11
Championship	2-8
CAA Championships: 4 (1987, 1990, 2005, 2015)

* the CAA moved to a head-to-head team championship in 1991
 
CAA Championship Rewind
The Tribe captured the program's fourth CAA Championship last season, outlasting Charleston, 4-1, in the title match. As the No. 3 seed, W&M downed Hofstra, 4-0, in the quarterfinals behind singles wins from Addison Appleby (No. 2), Alec Miller (No. 5) and Scott Huang (No. 6). In the semifinals, Miller clinched the Tribe's 4-1 upset of No. 2 Elon with a win at No. 6 singles. Will Juggins celebrated the championship clinching point at No. 2 in the 4-1 win over the Cougars. Miller was 3-0 in singles during the CAA Tournament, while Damon Niquet posted victories at No. 4 in both the semifinals and championship. In doubles, Appleby and Lars de Boer won important matches at No. 2 in the quarterfinals and semifinals, while Aaron Chaffee and Juggins tallied a victory at No. 1 in the championship. Christian Cargill and Niquet went 3-0 at No. 3 doubles during the tournament. Juggins was named the Most Outstanding Player of the CAA Championships.
 
CAA Championship Schedule
Friday, April 22 - Quarterfinals - Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center
Match #1 - 10 a.m. - #1 UNCW vs. #8 Delaware – Live Stats
Match #2 - 10 a.m. - #4 William & Mary vs. #5 Drexel – Live Stats
Match #3 - 12:45 p.m. - #2 Charleston vs. #7 James Madison – Live Stats
Match #4 - 12:45 p.m. - #3 Elon vs. #6 Hofstra – Live Stats

Saturday, April 23 - Semifinals - Jimmy Powell Tennis Center
Match #5 - 10 a.m. - Winner of Match #1 vs. Winner of Match #2 – Live Stats
Match #6 - 10 a.m. - Winner of Match #3 vs. Winner of Match #4 – Live Stats

Sunday, April 24 - Championship - Jimmy Powell Tennis Center
Match #7 - 10 a.m. - Winner of Match #5 vs. Winner of Match #6 – Live Stats

A Look at the Field …
#1 UNCW
Series History: W&M leads 22-3
Last Meeting: UNCW won 4-0 (4/21/13) – CAA Championship
 
UNCW enters the CAA Championship as the league's lone nationally-ranked team, coming in at No. 67 in the latest standings released on Tuesday. The Seahawks are coming off a 4-3 upset of No. 53 Georgia State in their regular-season finale. UNCW is 10-8 on the year with five of its eight losses coming to nationally-ranked teams. Included in the Seahawks 10 wins was a 4-3 triumph over then-No. 25 N.C. State in February. UNCW played one CAA team during the regular season and tallied a 6-1 win over Drexel. Santtu Leskinen leads the way for the Seahawks and was named the CAA Player of the Year on Wednesday. He is 9-7 at No. 1 singles and currently ranked No. 120 nationally. Christiaan Van der Burgh joined Leskinen on the All-CAA First Team in singles. He sports an 11-5 record, including an 8-4 mark at No. 2. Van der Burgh and Aviv Ben Shabat garnered All-CAA First Team doubles honors thanks to a 10-4 mark with four wins at No. 1. Agustin Savarino, who is 8-6 on the year, rounded out the All-CAA honorees for UNCW on the singles second team.
 
#2 Charleston
Series History: CofC leads 5-4
Last Meeting: W&M won 4-1 (4/19/15) – CAA Championship
 
Charleston has won four straight and seven of its last eight matches entering the CAA Championship. The Cougars are 16-6 on the year, including a 3-0 mark against the CAA with wins over Drexel, JMU and Elon. Each of the last three Cougar wins has come by 4-3 scores, including triumphs over the Phoenix, Charlotte and Davidson. CofC is 16-6 on the year with five of six losses to nationally-ranked teams. Juan Estevarena earned First Team All-CAA honors in both singles and doubles. He was 15-5 at No. 1 singles on the year. He teamed with Rodrigo Encinas to form the Cougars top doubles team and a First Team All-CAA pair. They were 15-5 at No. 1 in dual-match play. Encinas was a Second Team All-CAA singles pick, posting a 13-7 ledger.
 
#3 Elon
Series History: W&M leads 3-1
Last Meeting: Elon won 5-2 (4/3/16)
 
Elon is on a hot streak, coming into the conference championship winners in nine of its last 10 matches and at 16-5 overall. It marks the third time in the last four seasons the Phoenix won 16 or more matches. Elon head coach Michael Leonard was named the CAA Coach of the Year. The Phoenix's lone loss over the last 10 matches was a 4-3 decision to Charleston. Elon, which is coming off a 6-1 win over East Carolina, is 2-1 against the CAA with wins over JMU and W&M. Freshman Felipe Sarrasague, who was a First Team All-CAA selection in singles, leads the way for Elon and was named the CAA Rookie of the Year. He is 14-5 at the top two singles spots and is on a 10-match win streak. Joining him on the All-CAA First Team in singles was fellow freshman Mario Paccini, who is 12-8 at the top two singles positions. Chris Humphreys and Petar Tomic represent the Phoenix's top doubles team which is 10-5 on the year and was named first team all-league. Robert Lindgren and Paccini garnered Second Team All-CAA honors in doubles after going 11-3 with 10 wins at No. 2. Lindgren was a Second Team All-CAA pick in singles, going 13-5 in duals with 11 wins at No. 3.
 
Scouting #5 Drexel
Series History: W&M leads 1-0
Last Meeting: W&M won 4-0 (4/16/10) – CAA Quarterfinals
 
Drexel posted a school-record 13 wins during 2015-16. The Dragons closed out the regular season on a high note as well, posting the program's first-ever win over JMU, downing the Dukes 5-2 in Harrisonburg. Drexel is 3-2 in CAA with wins over Delaware and Hofstra to go with losses to UNCW and Charleston. Xabier Saavedra holds down the No. 1 singles position for the Dragons. He is 17-14 overall with eight wins at No. 1. Sinan Orhon is a team-best 20-9 in singles, playing primarily at No. 4 and No. 5. Balaji Lakshmanan is third on the team with 15 singles wins. Orhon and Kashyap Ashok comprise the Dragons' top doubles team, which is 18-5 on the year and 4-0 at No. 1.
 
#6 Hofstra
Series History: W&M leads 2-0
Last Meeting: W&M won 4-0 (4/17/15) – CAA Quarterfinals
Both meetings in CAA Tournament
 
Hofstra sits at 11-6 on the year and is coming off a doubleheader split over the weekend. The Pride downed St. Francis Brooklyn, 4-0, before falling to St. Francis (Pa.), 5-2. HU went 1-1 in CAA play with a 4-3 win over Delaware and a 4-1 loss to Drexel. Marcus Smith leads the way for Hofstra, going 10-5 at the No. 1 singles position. He earned Second Team All-CAA honors for his efforts. He along with Niko Vulinovich leads the Pride with 12 singles wins on the year. Gustav Akesson and Vulinovich are the Pride's top doubles team boasting a 13-6 mark, while Yahn Gawrit and Smith have an 11-4 mark at No. 2 doubles.
 
#7 James Madison
Series History: W&M leads 31-15
Last Meeting: W&M won 5-2 (4/17/16)
 
The Dukes enter the CAA Tournament at 9-11, coming off back-to-back 5-2 losses to Drexel and W&M. Sebastian Salinas leads JMU at 16-10 overall, including 10 wins at No. 1. He was a Second Team All-CAA selection and has won four straight matches. In doubles, the tandem of Maxi Branth and Tristan Stitt earned Second Team All-CAA honors, sporting a mark of 8-3.
 
#8 Delaware
Series History: W&M leads 8-0
Last Meeting: W&M won 6-1 (3/29/14)
 
Delaware has won three of its last five matches to enter the CAA Championship at 3-13. The Blue Hens dropped their regular season finale to Hampton, 5-2, after a pair of weekend wins over Coppin State and Virginia State. Colin Wong leads the team with 10 singles wins. Tyler Flematti owns six wins and has played primarily at the top two posts. Mike Furr spent the majority of the season at No. 1 for Delaware.