WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Another nail-biter came down to a trio of three setters for the No. 45-ranked William & Mary men's tennis team, but the Tribe could not overcome a 3-0 deficit in falling to Yale, 4-2, on Saturday afternoon at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center. Senior Alec Miller and freshman Finbar Talcott posted singles wins for the Green and Gold (6-3).
 
Despite a win from the freshman duo of Talcott and Louis Newman at the No. 3 doubles, Yale (5-4) took the opening point of the match with 6-2 victories at the top-two posts. The Bulldogs claimed straight-set singles wins at No. 2 and No. 5 to increase their lead to 3-0.
 
Miller and Talcott drew the Green and Gold within 3-2 with singles wins. Miller continued his strong play, winning for the fourth time in a row and second straight at the top position. He upended Andrew Heller, who advanced to the quarterfinal of the ITA Northeast Region Championship in the fall, at the top spot by a 6-3, 7-6 (3) score.
 
Talcott needed three sets, but won his third match in a row at No. 4 singles. The Tribe rookie claimed the opening set without dropping a game, 6-0, before Yale's Stefan Doehler extended the match with a 6-3 win in the second. Talcott secured the victory with a 6-4 triumph in the final set for his 11th victory overall.
 
The match came down to two more three setters at No. 3 and No. 6. W&M jumped out to set advantages in both, but Yale's Alan Sou rallied to clinch the match. He outlasted Tribe freshman Michael Chen in a third-set tiebreaker, 7-6 (5).
 
Notes
Yale won its second straight in the series to take a 4-2 advantage … Freshmen Finbar Talcott and Louis Newman paired together for the first time in doubles and picked up the win at No. 3 … Senior Alec Miller won his fourth match in a row to improved to 11-7 overall … Miller leads the Tribe with a 7-1 dual-match record and is a perfect 2-0 at No. 1 … Talcott won his second-straight match overall, upping his record to 11-9 on the year … He improved to 6-2 in duals and a perfect 3-0 at No. 4.
 
Up Next
The Tribe hosts Liberty on Saturday, March 3, at 3 p.m., before hitting the road for a three-match trip to Sunshine State over Spring Break. The Green and Gold travels to Florida Atlantic on March 6, Florida Gulf Coast on March 8 and wraps up the trip at Miami (Fla.) on March 11.
 
Yale 4, #45 William & Mary 2
Singles
No. 1 – Alec Miller (W&M) def. Andrew Heller (Yale) – 6-3, 7-6 (3)
No. 2 – Dylan King (Yale) def. Christian Cargill (W&M) – 7-5, 6-3
No. 3 – Louis Newman (W&M) vs. Dennis Wang (Yale) – DNF, 7-5, 3-6, 3-3
No. 4 – Finbar Talcott (W&M) def. Stefan Doehler (Yale) – 6-0, 3-6, 6-4
No. 5 – Fedor Andrienko (Yale) def. Sebastian Quiros (W&M) – 6-4, 6-3
No. 6 – Alan Sou (Yale) def. Michael Chen (W&M) – 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5)
Finishing Order: 5, 2, 4, 1, 6
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Andrienko/Doehler (Yale) def. Cargill/Miller (W&M) – 6-2
No. 2 – Brown/King (Yale) def. de Boer/Bautil (W&M) – 6-2
No. 3 – Newman/Talcott (W&M) def. D. Wang/Heller (Yale) – 6-2
Finishing Order: 3, 2, 1*