RICHMOND, Va. – The William & Mary men's tennis team suffered its first loss of the 2018 season, falling to reigning Southern Conference Champion East Tennessee State, 4-1, on Sunday afternoon at the Thalhimer Tennis Center. Senior Alec Miller provided the lone victory for the Tribe (5-1), winning at the No. 2 singles post.
 
After the Bucs (3-4) claimed a narrow doubles point to jump out to a 1-0 lead, the top-four matches opened singles competition with only four indoor courts available. ETSU increased the lead to 2-0 with a straight-sets win at No. 4.
 
Seniors Christian Cargill and Lars de Boer won opening sets at No. 1 and No. 3, respectively, but split sets with their ETSU opponents Robert Herrera and Sergi Fontcuberta. Cargill took the opener from Herrera, 6-3, at the top spot, before the Bucs' two-time All-SoCon player answered with a 6-3 win in the second. Herrera carried over the momentum and increased the ETSU lead to 3-0 with a 6-1 triumph in the third set.
 
Miller picked up his fourth win in five matches at the No. 2 spot to close the gap. The Tribe senior topped ESTU's Juan Lugo in a pair of tiebreakers, 7-6, 7-6, for his eighth win of the year.
 
Freshmen Finbar Talcott and Sebastian Quiros both led by a set at the No. 5 and No. 6 positions, respectively. Talcott took the opening set from David Gonzalez, 6-3, and led 3-0 in the second when the match was abandoned with the team results decided. Quiros won a first-set tiebreaker, 7-6, at No. 6 over Tasei Miyamoto.
 
ETSU secured the match with a three-set win at the No. 3 spot. de Boer tallied the opening set in a tiebreaker, before Fontcuberta answered with a 6-3 win in the second. The Bucs junior outlasted the Tribe senior in a third set tiebreaker, 7-6, to clinch the team victory.
 
Notes
ETSU was the second of six conference champions that the Tribe will face in 2018 and the third of seven 2017 NCAA Tournament participants … The Bucs won the Southern Conference Championship in 2017 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament … The Tribe's 5-0 start to the season was the program's best since 1950 … W&M won 82-straight matches between 1945-50 … Senior Alec Miller improved to 4-1 at the No. 2 singles position and 8-7 overall.
 
Up Next
The Tribe travels to the Midwest for a pair of matches next week against Western Michigan and Valparaiso. The Green and Gold takes on the Broncos, who are 7-1 on the year with two wins over Big Ten foes, on Saturday, Feb. 17, at 11 a.m. W&M wraps up the trip on Sunday, Feb. 18, at Valparaiso, who won the Horizon League last season, at 1 p.m.
 
ETSU 4, William & Mary 1
Singles
No. 1 – Robert Herrera (ETSU) def. Christian Cargill (W&M) – 3-6, 6-3, 6-1
No. 2 – Alec Miller (W&M) def. Juan Lugo (ETSU) – 7-6, 7-6
No. 3 – Sergi Fontcuberta (ETSU) def. Lars de Boer (W&M) – 6-7, 6-3, 7-6
No. 4 – Frazier Rengifo (ETSU) def. Louis Newman (W&M) – 7-6, 6-2
No. 5 – Finbar Talcott (W&M) vs. David Gonzalez (ETSU) – DNF, 6-3, 3-0
No. 6 – Sebastian Quiros (W&M) vs. Tasei Miyamoto (ETSU) – DNF, 7-6
Finishing Order: 4, 1, 2, 3*
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Lugo/Miyamoto (ETSU) def. Miller/Chen (W&M) – 6-3
No. 2 – Herrera/Fontcuberta (ETSU) def. Cargill/Newman (W&M) – 6-4
No. 3 – Bautil/de Boer (W&M) vs. Este/Rengifo (ETSU) – DNF, 5-5
Finishing Order: 2, 1*