WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary men's tennis team closes out its season-opening five-match homestand on Friday, Feb. 9, before traveling for a neutral site tilt in Richmond on Sunday, Feb. 11. The Green and Gold welcome No. 25-ranked South Carolina to the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center on Friday at noon, and head to take on ETSU in Richmond at 10 a.m., on Sunday.
New to Tribe tennis in 2018, fans can watch the all action at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center via PlaySight. The advanced sports video and analytics technology provides fans with six fully automated HD cameras for live streaming. Both matches will be live streamed via PlaySight on
TribeAthletics.com/TennisLive.
Scouting the Tribe
William & Mary is off to a 4-0 start to the season for the just the fifth time in the last six decades and first time since 2011. The Tribe ran its season-opening win streak for four with a 5-2 win over in-state foe Richmond on Feb. 1. The Green and Gold used its singles strength against the Spiders, winning at the top five positions. Seniors
Christian Cargill and
Alec Miller posted wins at No. 1 and No. 2, while freshmen
Louis Newman (No. 3), Finbar Taclott (No. 4) and
Sebastian Quiros (No. 5) rounded out the Tribe triumphs. Cargill was named the CAA Player of the Week on Wednesday for his efforts last week. Singles has been W&M's strong suit during the four-match season-opening streak as the team is a combined 16-8 in individual competition. Newman leads the Tribe with an 11-4 overall ledger, including a perfect 4-0 dual-match mark at No. 3 and No. 4. Miller is 3-0 at the No. 2 post, while Talcott and Quiros are 3-1 in dual-match play. In doubles, Newman and Cargill own the team's top mark at 8-3, including 3-1 at the No. 2 post. Cargill ranks 10th in program history at 77 career doubles wins and is just one shy of the ninth spot. W&M opened the 2018 dual-match season with three-straight thrilling 4-3 wins over Monmouth, Elon and Penn. The Tribe's freshmen have clinched all four victories this season with Newman, who was the CAA Player of the Week on Jan. 31, posting the capper against Monmouth and Penn. Talcott iced the win over Elon, and Quiros clinched the most recent win over Richmond.
Scouting South Carolina
The Gamecocks, which were ranked No. 25 nationally in the latest poll released on Wednesday, enter the week at 7-1 on the year following a doubleheader sweep of South Carolina State, 4-1, and Charlotte, 6-1, on Feb. 2. South Carolina's lone loss came during the ITA Kick-Off Weekend in Chapel Hill, N.C., to No. 17 Michigan, 4-0. They split matches at the event thanks to a 4-1 victory over Drake. W&M and USC have one common opponent in Elon. Both pick up wins with the Tribe dropping the Phoenix, 4-3, and South Carolina posting a 6-1 win over the CAA school. The Gamecock lineup features three nationally-ranked players in No. 87 Francisco Cerundolo, No. 95 Yancy Dennis, and No. 109 Gabriel Friedrich. Cerundolo and Friedrich have split time at the top two singles positions with the former going 3-1 and the latter compiling a 6-1 mark. Thomas Mayronne leads the team with a 16-3 singles mark overall followed by Dennis at 15-5 and Friedrich at 14-4.
Series History: W&M vs. South Carolina
W&M and South Carolina have met on six occasions, including twice in the last eight years. The Gamecocks hold a 5-1 advantage in the all-time series and will make its second-straight straight trip to Williamsburg. USC won the last meeting 7-0 in 2013. The Tribe's last victory in the series came in 2011 as part of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend by a 4-0 score in Columbus, Ohio.
Scouting ETSU
The Bucs are 2-3 on the season entering its Saturday match-up with VCU. ETSU went 2-1 during a three-match road swing to the Sunshine State. The Bucs topped Florida A&M, 4-0, and FGCU, 4-2, along with falling to No. 20 Florida State, 4-1. ETSU dropped its last two matches at Marquette, 4-3, and Wisconsin, 4-2, over the weekend. Robert Herrera and Juan Lugo hold down the top two singles posts for the Bucs and are both 2-2 on the season. Against Florida State, ETSU claimed the doubles point thanks to a win from Lugo and Frazier Rengifo over the No. 8-ranked team in the country. Lugo and Rengifo are ranked No. 44 nationally in doubles.
Series History: W&M vs. ETSU
ETSU leads the all-time series with W&M at 4-2. The Bucs downed W&M, 4-3, in 2010 during the teams last meeting. Sunday will be the teams fourth meeting at a neutral site and third in Richmond. ETSU topped the Green and Gold in both 1994 and 1995 in the capital city. W&M's last victory in the series was a 6-1 win in Johnson City, Tenn., in 2001.
