ELON, N.C. – The defending CAA Champion William & Mary men's tennis team saw its run in the 2016 league championship come to a close on Saturday afternoon with a 4-1 semifinal setback to No. 67 UNCW at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center. W&M (15-9) picked up a win at the No. 1 doubles position from senior Scott Huang and sophomore Christian Cargill, while junior Aidan Talcott notched a singles triumph at No. 5. In the end, the top-seeded Seahawks (12-8) proved to be too much, earning a spot in the Sunday's championship match.
 
Cargill and Huang turned in a strong performance at the top doubles spot. The Tribe tandem upended the First Team All-CAA duo of Christian Van der Burgh and Aviv Ben Shabat, 6-3, for its third straight win. Cargill and Huang, who garnered Second Team All-CAA honors, upped their mark to 11-4 overall, including a 3-0 ledger at the top post. The doubles win was also the 50th of both Cargill and Huang's Tribe careers. UNCW captured the initial point of the match with 6-2 wins at No. 2 and No. 3.
 
After UNCW extended the lead to 2-0 with a win at No. 4, Talcott put W&M on the board with his third straight win at the fifth spot. The Tribe junior topped Xander Veys, 6-2, 6-3, for his team-leading 15th dual-match win. He recorded his 11th victory at No. 5 and moved into a tie for the team lead in singles wins at 19-10.
 
At No. 2 singles, junior Addison Appleby rallied to force a decisive third set with All-CAA First Teamer Christian Van der Burgh. The UNCW senior took the opening set, 6-2, but Appleby responded to take the second, 6-3. The match ended unfinished at 1-1 in the final set because, unfortunately for the Tribe, the tide turned back to the Seahawks.
 
Junior Damon Niquet and sophomore Alec Miller were locked in close second sets after dropping 6-2 first sets. UNCW pushed its lead to 3-1 as Andres Torres snapped Niquet's 14-match win streak with a 7-5 win in the second at No. 6. In a tiebreaker between Second Team All-CAA picks at No. 3, Agustin Savarino outlasted Miller, 7-6 (3), to clinch the Seahawks win.
 
UNCW advanced to the CAA Championship match for the sixth time in the last eight years. The title tilt is set for 10 a.m. at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.
 
#1 UNCW 4, #4 William & Mary 1
Singles
No. 1 – #120 Santtu Leskinen (UNCW) vs. Christian Cargill (W&M) – DNF, 7-6 (4), 5-3
No. 2 – Addison Appleby (W&M) vs. Christian Van der Burgh (UNCW) – DNF, 2-6, 6-3, 1-1
No. 3 – Agustin Savarino (UNCW) def. Alec Miller (W&M) – 6-2, 7-6 (3)
No. 4 – Aviv Ben Shabat (UNCW) def. Lars de Boer (W&M) – 6-3, 6-3
No. 5 – Aidan Talcott (W&M) def. Xander Veys (UNCW) – 6-2, 6-3
No. 6 – Andres Torres (UNCW) def. Damon Niquet (W&M) – 6-2, 7-5
Finishing Order: 4, 5, 6, 3*
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Cargill/Huang (W&M) def. Van der Burgh/Shabat (UNCW) – 6-3
No. 2 – Leskinen/Cramer (UNCW) def. Bautil/Newman (W&M) – 6-2
No. 3 – Savarino/Hublitz  (UNCW) def. de Boer/Niquet (W&M) – 6-2
Finishing Order: 2, 1, 3*