WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The William & Mary men's tennis team turned in a strong singles performance to surge by three-time defending Atlantic 10 Champion George Washington, 5-2, on Friday evening at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center. After the Colonials (5-4) took the doubles points, W&M (5-5) won five of the six singles matches, including the final three in three sets, to pull out the victory.  
 
In doubles, senior Addison Appleby and sophomore Tristan Bautil gave W&M the early lead with a victory at the No. 2 post. The duo downed Fernando Sala and Christos Hadjigeorgiou, 6-3, to improve to 4-3 on the season. The Colonials responded with wins at No. 1 and No. 3 to take the opening point of the match.
 
Juniors Lars de Boer and Christian Cargill opened singles with straight-set wins to put the Tribe on top for good. de Boer returned to the Tribe lineup, posting a 6-4, 6-1 triumph over Dennis Afanasen at the No. 6 position. It was his fifth win of the year and second in dual-match play. Cargill continued his strong play at the second spot, topping Chris Reynolds, 6-4, 7-6. He won for the seventh time on the year and improved to 5-4 at No. 2.
 
Senior Aidan Talcott rallied back for a three-set win at the top singles position. Julius Tverijonas, who was ranked No. 13 in the ITA Atlantic Region following the fall and entered at 15-7 on the year, jumped out to a set advantage with a 6-3 win in the first. Talcott roared back, dropping just two games in the second and third sets on the way to matching 6-1, 6-1 triumphs to pull out victory. He ran his season ledger to 9-7, while upping his dual-match mark at No. 1 to 5-4.
 
Niquet won his fourth-straight match to clinch the team victory. The Tribe senior claimed the opening set, 6-2, before George Washington's Jakub Bettun rallied with a 6-4 win in the second. Niquet came on strong in the third set, rolling to a convincing 6-1 win for his team-leading 10th singles win on the year. He also pushed his team-best dual-match record to 7-2.
 
Junior Alec Miller rounded out the Tribe victory with a come-from-behind three-set win at the No. 4 position. After dropping the first set, 6-3, to Hadjigeorgiou, Miller responded with a 6-3 victory in the second and then outlasted his GW counterpart in a third-set tiebreaker, 7-6. He evened his dual-match record at 5-5, while improving to 7-6 overall.
 
The Tribe continues its home stand on Sunday, Feb. 19, with its first of two straight against Big East foes. The Green and Gold hosts DePaul at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center at 11 a.m. Tribe tennis will have FREE pizza for fans between singles and doubles, while it lasts.
 
William & Mary 5, George Washington 2
Singles
No. 1 – Aidan Talcott (W&M) def. Julius Tverijonas (GW) – 3-6, 6-1, 6-1
No. 2 – Christian Cargill (W&M) def. Chris Reynolds (GW) – 6-4, 7-6
No. 3 – Chris Fletcher (GW) def. Addison Appleby (W&M) – 7-6, 7-6
No. 4 – Alec Miller (W&M) def. Christos Hadjigeorgiou (GW) – 3-6, 6-3, 7-6
No. 5 – Damon Niquet (W&M) def. Jakub Bettun (GW) – 6-2, 4-6, 6-1
No. 6 – Lars de Boer (W&M) def. Dennis Afanasen (GW) – 6-4, 6-1
Finishing Order: 6, 2, 1, 5*, 3, 4
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Tverijonas/Fletcher (GW) def. Talcott/Newman (W&M) – 6-2
No. 2 – Bautil/Appleby (W&M) def. Hadjigeorgiou/Sala (GW) – 6-3
No. 3 – Bettun/Reynolds (GW) def. Cargill/Miller (W&M) – 6-3
Finishing Order: 2, 1, 3*