WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary men's tennis team continues its road swing when it heads south for a pair of matches in the Carolinas. The Tribe faces its first Colonial Athletic Association opponent of the year in Elon on Saturday, Feb. 11, at 1 p.m., before heading to Rock Hill, S.C., for the first time to meet Winthrop on Sunday, Feb. 12, at 11 a.m.
 
Scouting the Tribe
The Tribe dropped a pair of matches to 2016 NCAA Tournament participants as part of a road trip to Indiana last week. The Green and Gold fell to Notre Dame, 7-0, before dropping a close 4-3 match with reigning Horizon League Champion Valparaiso. Against the Crusaders, W&M received singles wins from junior Christian Cargill (No. 2), junior Alec Miller (No. 4) and senior Damon Niquet (No. 6). The tilt came down to a pair of three-set matches at No. 2 and No. 3. Cargill upset No. 95 Chad Kissell, 6-3, 6-7, 6-4, but Valparaiso pulled out the win with a victory at No. 3. Cargill won for the third time in the last four matches and for his efforts was named the CAA Singles Player of the Week for the second time in his career. W&M won the first two CAA Player of the Week award this season after senior Aidan Talcott took home the first one on Feb. 1 thanks to his 3-1 start to the year. Talcott, who is 3-3 at No. 1 singles, and Niquet lead W&M with seven singles wins apiece. Cargill tops the Green and Gold with a 10-4 doubles record. The Tribe recently added a match to the 2017 schedule against No. 17-ranked Illinois on Valentine's Day, Feb. 14, at 11 a.m., in Charlottesville, Va.
 
Scouting Elon
The Phoenix is 2-5 on the year and in the midst of a four-match homestand. Elon opened the stretch with a 5-2 win over Liberty on Wednesday. Against the Flames, the Phoenix won the doubles points with victories at the top two positions. In singles, Felipe Sarrasague tallied a win at No. 1, and Elon received triumphs at the bottom three positions from Petar Tomic (No. 4), Felipe Osses-Konig (No. 5) and Louis Rico (No. 6). Earlier this season, the Phoenix suffered losses to ACC foes Duke, 6-1, and N.C. State, 7-0. Last weekend, Elon dropped two matches on a road trip to Virginia, falling at VCU, 4-3, and at Old Dominion, 5-2. Sarrasague, who was the CAA Rookie of the Year and First Team All-CAA, owns a trio of wins at the No. 1 spot for Elon, while Tomic and Osses-Konig are 3-3 at No. 4 and No. 5 singles, respectively. Sarrasague and Mario Paccini comprise the No. 1 doubles team for Elon and are 3-3 this year.
 
Series History: W&M vs. Elon
The Tribe leads the all-time series with the Phoenix at 3-1. It marks the second-straight meeting between the teams in Elon, and the Phoenix claimed a 5-2 win last season. In 2015, the Green and Gold posted a 4-1 victory over Elon in the CAA semifinals on the way to winning its fourth conference title. After W&M won the doubles point thanks to an incredible tiebreaker win from Lars de Boer and Addison Appleby, the Tribe received singles wins from Damon Niquet (No. 4) and de Boer (No. 5) along with the clincher from Alec Miller at No. 6. Miller (No. 3) and Niquet (No. 6) also picked up wins over the Phoenix in singles action last year.
 
Scouting Winthrop
The Eagles, who were the preseason pick to win the Big South, enter the weekend at 0-4. Winthrop suffered a 7-0 loss in its most recent outing at VCU on Feb. 3. The Eagles, who also suffered setbacks to Clemson, 4-0, Davidson, 5-1, and Wofford, 4-3, travel to Georgia Southern on Saturday, before hosting the Tribe in their home opener. Diego Qurioz, who was a second team All-Big South pick last season, is 1-1 at the No. 1 single spot. Leandros Pappayiannis has played the last two matches at the top position. Gabriel Dias is 1-1 at the No. 3 singles slot, while Ruy Teixeira and Aditya Gokhale tallied singles wins at No. 2 and No. 4, respectively, against Wofford. In doubles, Dias and Pappayiannis are 1-2 at the No. 2 post. Winthrop last won the Big South title in 2015 and has captured a league-record seven tennis crowns.
 
Series History: W&M vs. Winthrop 
W&M holds a 5-0 advantage in the all-time series with the Eagles, but Sunday will be the Green and Gold's first trip to Rock Hill, S.C. The Tribe won the previous five meetings all in the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center in Williamsburg. W&M topped Winthrop five times over a seven-year stretch from 2005-11. The Tribe won the five meetings by a combined 31-4 score, including a 6-1 victory in the last contest in 2011.