WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary men's tennis team flexed its singles muscle, winning the top five posts to upend in-state foe Richmond, 5-2, on Thursday night at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center. Seniors Christian Cargill and Alec Miller won at No. 1 and No. 2, while freshmen Louis Newman, Finbar Talcott and Sebastian Quiros claimed the next three spots to give W&M its fourth-straight win to open the 2018 campaign.
 
After Richmond (1-3) took the doubles point to open the match, Talcott quickly pulled the Tribe even, dropping just three games in a 6-3, 6-0 win over Matt Fernandez at the fourth singles post. Talcott is 3-1 in dual-match play for the Green and Gold.
 
Miller and Cargill quickly put the Tribe on top with straight-set wins at the top two positions. Miller won his third straight at No. 2, upending Brice Polender, 6-2, 6-4, to put the Tribe in front for good. Cargill topped reigning Atlantic-10 Player of the Week Caleb Troy, 6-3, 7-5, to bring the Tribe within a victory of the team triumph.
 
Quiros made it four-straight wins clinched by freshmen, tallying a come-from-behind three-set victory at No. 5 to cement the Tribe triumph. After dropping the opening set to Klein Evans, 6-3, the Green and Gold rookie forced a decisive third with a tiebreaker win in the second, 7-6, before dispatching of the Spider sophomore, 6-2, in the final set.
 
Newman rounded out the Tribe victory with his fifth-straight win and his second in a row in three sets. The reigning CAA Player of the Week downed UR senior James Aronson, 6-0, 6-7, 7-5, to improved to 2-0 at the No. 3 spot with his 11th singles win of the year.
 
Notes
The Tribe victory marked its 19th straight against Richmond … The Spiders went 25-4 a season ago, were the No. 1 seed in the A-10 Tournament, and opened 2018 with a 4-3 setback to then-No. 12 Virginia … In doubles, senior Christian Cargill and freshman Louis Newman improved to 8-3 overall and 3-1 at No. 2 with a 6-3 win over Matt Fernandez and Klein Evans … The doubles win marked the 77th of Cargill's Tribe career, and he is only one shy of ninth place on the program's doubles wins list … In singles, Cargill notched his 10th victory of the season and his 20th career win at the No. 1 spot … Senior Alec Miller upped his season record to 7-6 with his third-straight win at No. 2 … Freshman Finbar Talcott evened his singles ledger at 8-8, while upping his dual-match record to 3-1 with his victory at No. 4 … Freshman Louis Newman improved to a team-best 11-4 in singles and post his team-leading 11th doubles win of the year … He is 4-0 in dual-match singles play with two wins at No. 3 and No. 4  … Like Talcott, classmate Sebastian Quiros improved to 3-1 in dual-match play with his sixth singles victory of the season … In total, the Tribe's freshman class is 10-3 in dual-match singles action … The 4-0 start equals the best for the Tribe in the last six decades … The Green and Gold also started 4-0 in 1997, 2009, 2010 and 2011 … The Tribe enjoyed four-straight undefeated seasons between 1946-49 and won back-to-back national championships in 1947 and 1948.
 
Up Next
The Tribe closes out its five-match, season-opening homestand when it welcomes No. 24-ranked South Carolina to Williamsburg on Friday, Feb. 9. The match carries a noon start time from the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center. Fans can watch the live stream of all W&M's home matches at the indoor center via PlaySight at TribeAthletics.com/TennisLive.
 
William & Mary 5, Richmond 2
Singles
No. 1 – Christian Cargill (W&M) def. Caleb Troy (UR) – 6-3, 7-5
No. 2 – Alec Miller (W&M) def. Brice Polender (UR) – 6-2, 6-4
No. 3 – Louis Newman (W&M) def. James Aronson (UR) – 6-0, 6-7, 7-5
No. 4 – Finbar Talcott (W&M) def. Matt Fernandez (UR) – 6-3, 6-0
No. 5 – Sebastian Quiros (W&M) def. Klein Evans (UR) – 3-6, 7-6, 6-2
No. 6 – Joe Nardini (UR) def. Michael Ruamthong (W&M) – 7-6, 7-6
Finishing Order: 4, 2, 1, 5*, 3, 6
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Aronson/Troy (UR) def. Chen/Miller (W&M) – 6-3
No. 2 – Cargill/Newman (W&M) def. Evans/Fernandez (UR) – 6-3
No. 3 – Polender/Lovitt (UR) def. Bautil/Quiros (W&M) – 6-3
Finishing Order: 2, 1, 3*