WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – For the third time in as many matches to start the 2018 campaign, the team result came down to the final match. For the William & Mary men's tennis team, the story played out the same as a freshman, this time Louis Newman, provided the clincher in a thrilling 4-3 win over Ivy League foe Penn on Saturday night at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center. The Tribe is off to its best start at 3-0 since 2011.
 
One day after freshman Finbar Talcott picked up a three-set win to clinch a CAA win over Elon, the balance of the tilt against the Quakers (0-2) came down to Newman and Penn senior Nicholai Westergaard. The Tribe rookie won the opening set, 6-4, before the elder Quaker statesman forced a decisive third with a tiebreaker win in the second. Newman would not be denied as he rolled in the final set, 6-1, for his team-leading 10th win of the season and second clincher in the opening three matches.
 
The Tribe took the early lead by claiming the doubles point for the first time in 2018. Speaking of firsts, senior Alec Miller and freshman Michael Chen teamed for the first time on Saturday and posted a 6-3 triumph at the top doubles post over Kyle Mautner and Dmitry Shatalin. The initial point of the match came down to the second spot where senior Christian Cargill and Newman held off Westergaard and Josh Pompan in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (5), to give W&M a 1-0 advantage.
 
Penn won two of the first three singles matches off the court in straight sets to draw even at two. Freshman Sebastian Quiros provided the lone Tribe straight-sets win at the No. 6 spot. He bounced Aleks Huryn, 6-0, 7-5.
 
The balance of the team result came down to a trio of three-set matches. Miller won his second-straight at the No. 2 spot, rallying for a three-set win over Pompan. After the Penn player won the opening set, 6-2, the Tribe senior ripped off the final two, 6-2, 6-4, to give W&M a 3-2 cushion. Pompan was a Second-Team All-Ivy League pick last season.
 
Notes
The Tribe improved to 3-0 on the year with its third-straight 4-3 win … Freshman Louis Newman improved his team-leading singles record to 10-4 … He is 3-0 in dual-match play and provided his second clincher in the first three matches … Newman has won four-straight matches dating back to the fall season … Senior Alec Miller evened his singles mark at 6-6 and is 2-0 at No. 2 this season … Freshman Sebastian Quiros improved to 2-1 at No. 6 with his fifth singles win of the year … Senior Christian Cargill and Newman are a Tribe-best 7-3 in doubles play and 2-1 at the No. 2 spot … W&M and Penn met for the fourth-straight year and the Tribe took a 4-3 advantage in the all-time series with victory on Saturday.
 
Up Next
The Green and Gold welcomes instate foe Richmond to the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center on Thursday, Feb. 1. The match carries a 6 p.m., start time and will be live streamed via PlaySight.
 
William & Mary 4, Penn 3
Singles
No. 1 – Kyle Mautner (Penn) def. Christian Cargill (W&M) – 7-5, 6-3
No. 2 – Alec Miller (W&M) def. Josh Pompan (Penn) – 2-6, 6-2, 6-4
No. 3 – Dmitry Shatalin (Penn) def. Lars de Boer (W&M) – 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
No. 4 – Louis Newman (W&M) def. Nicholai Westergaard (Penn) – 6-4, 6-7, 6-1
No. 5 – Max Cancilla (Penn) def. Finbar Talcott (W&M) – 6-3, 6-1
No. 6 –Sebastian Quiros (W&M) def. Aleks Huryn (Penn) –6-0, 7-5
Finishing Order: 5, 6, 1, 2, 3, 4*
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Miller/Chen (W&M) def. Mautner/Shatalin (Penn) – 6-3
No. 2 – Cargill/Newman (W&M) vs. Pompan/Westergaard (Penn) – 7-6 (5)
No. 3 – Cancilla/Huryn (Penn) def. de Boer/Quiros (W&M) – 6-2
Finishing Order: 3,1,2*