WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – With the match tied at three and trailing 4-1 in the final set at No. 5, the momentum was not in the William & Mary men's tennis team's favor. Freshman Finbar Talcott was just the force needed to swing the pendulum back in the Tribe's direction. He ripped off five-straight games to send the Green and Gold (2-0, 1-0 CAA) to a thrilling 4-3 comeback win over CAA rival Elon on Saturday night at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis.
 
Three Tribe singles wins from seniors Alec Miller (No. 2) and Lars de Boer (No. 3) as well as freshman Louis Newman (No. 4) gave the home team a 3-2 lead after Elon (2-3, 0-1 CAA) took leads at 1-0 and 2-1. A Phoenix victory at the No. 6 brought the balance down to a match-up between Talcott and Elon freshman Camilo Ponce. Talcott won the first set in a tiebreaker, 7-6, while Ponce responded with a 6-3 second-set victory.  The Elon rookie jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the decisive third set and led by 4-1, before Talcott's strong finish clinched the Tribe victory.
 
After Elon took the doubles point with wins at the top two spots, Newman pulled the Tribe even with his second-straight dual-match win. The Tribe freshman dropped Elon junior Salvador Mijares, who was a Second Team All-CAA pick last season, in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4.
 
Miller and de Boer countered an Elon victory at the top singles spot with Green and Gold triumphs at No. 2 and No. 3. de Boer won his sixth singles match of the year, topping Kyle Frankel, 6-4, 6-3, at the third singles slot. Miller jumped out to a set advantage over Elon junior Mario Paccini, taking the first set, 6-2. Paccini, who is a two-time All-CAA pick including first-team honors in 2016, retired in the second set due to injury, giving W&M its first lead at 3-2.
 
Notes
For the second-straight match, a Tribe freshman clinched the Green and Gold victory … This time it was Finbar Talcott after classmate Louis Newman did it in the win over Monmouth … Talcott evened his season ledger at 7-7 and upped his dual-match mark to 2-0 … Newman won his team-leading ninth singles match, improving to 9-4 overall and 2-0 in dual-match play … Newman won his third match in a row … Senior Lars de Boer won his second-straight dual-match and upped his season ledger to 6-5 … Playing in his first dual-match of the season, senior Alec Miller tallied his fifth win of the year and his fourth career triumph at the No. 2 position … de Boer and Miller won at the No. 3 doubles position and improved to 6-2 as a pair.

Up Next
The Tribe continues its season-opening five-match homestand against Ivy League counterpart Penn on Saturday, Jan. 27. The match carries a 7 p.m., start time from the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center and will be live streamed via PlaySight on TribeAthletics.com/TennisLive.
 
William & Mary 4, Elon 3
Singles
No. 1 – Felipe Sarrasague (Elon) def. Christian Cargill (W&M) – 6-4, 6-3
No. 2 – Alec Miller (W&M) def. Mario Paccini (Elon) – 6-2, 3-4, retired
No. 3 – Lars de Boer (W&M) def. Kyle Frankel (Elon) – 6-4, 6-3
No. 4 – Louis Newman (W&M) def. Salvador Mijares (Elon) – 6-1, 6-4
No. 5 – Finbar Talcott (W&M) def. Camilo Ponce (Elon) – 7-6, 3-6, 6-4
No. 6 – Felipe Ossess-Konig (Elon) def. Sebastian Quiros (W&M) – 7-5, 6-4
Finishing Order: 4, 1, 3, 2, 6, 5*
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Paccini/Port (Elon) def. Bautil/Cheng (W&M) – 6-2
No. 2 – Mijares/Sarrasague (Elon) def. Cargill/Newman (W&M) – 6-2
No. 3 – de Boer/Miller (W&M) def. Frankel/Ponce (Elon) – 6-2
Finishing Order: 1, 3, 2*