WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Freshman Oren Vasser won his 11th match of the season and the contest came down to a trio of close singles matches, but Middle Tennessee snapped William & Mary's two-match win streak with a 5-1 victory at the Millie West Tennis Facility on Sunday afternoon.
 
How It Happened
- After Middle Tennessee (11-9) won at the No. 3 spot, the final two doubles matches were hotly contested at the top of the lineup. The Blue Raider duo of Chris Edge and Tom Moonen, which is ranked No. 52 nationally, outlasted junior Brenden Volk and sophomore Chen Ruo in a tiebreaker at No. 1, 7-6 (2).
- The visitors increased its lead to 3-0 with a pair of straight-sets wins at No. 2 and No. 5.
- At No. 4, Vasser posted his 11th win of the year to draw W&M (2-12) within 3-1. He jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first set and held on for a 6-3 win over Max Rauch. The Tribe rookie again jumped out to an early lead, 3-0, in the second, but Rauch rallied to pull even at four. Not to be outdone, Vasser won the final two games including a winner down the line on match point. Rauch entered the match at 6-3 on line four for the Blue Raiders.
- The balance of the match came down to a trio of tight contests at No. 1, No. 3 and No. 6. The matches on line three and six went three sets. At No. 6, Ruo jumped out to a set advantage over Pavel Motl with a 6-4 win in the first, but the Blue Raider responded to clinch the team triumph with a pair of 6-3 victories in the final two sets.
- At the same time that Motl was clinching the win at No. 6, Moonen edged sophomore Finbar Talcott in three sets at the No. 3 post. After Moonen won the opening set, 6-2, Talcott answered with a 6-3 win in the second. The Blue Raider junior jumped to a 3-0 advantage in the third set and held off Talcott for the 6-3 win.
- Sophomore Sebastian Qurios was locked in a back-and-forth battle at No. 1 with Gonzalo Morrell, who was the Ohio Valley Singles Runner-up during the fall and is a three-year All-Conference USA selection. Morrell edged Quiros in a first-set tiebreaker, 7-6 (5), and the Tribe sophomore rallied to force a second-set tiebreaker. Quiros jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the breaker when the match was abandoned with the team result decided.
 
Up Next
- The Tribe continues its homestand with DePaul on Saturday, March 30. The match carries a noon start time from the Millie West Tennis Facility, weather permitting.
 
Middle Tennessee 5, William & Mary 1
Singles
No. 1 – Gonzalo Morrell (MT) vs. Sebastian Quiros (W&M) – DNF, 7-6 (5), 6-6 (0-2)
No. 2 – Stijn Slump (MT) def. Brenden Volk (W&M) – 6-2, 6-3
No. 3 – Tom Moonen (MT) def. Finbar Talcott (W&M) – 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
No. 4 – Oren Vasser (W&M) def. Max Rauch (MT) – 6-3, 6-4
No. 5 – Chris Edge (MT) def. Jack Kelly (W&M) – 6-3, 6-4
No. 6 – Pavel Motl (MT) def. Chen Ruo (W&M) – 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
Finishing Order: 5, 2, 4, 6*, 3
 
Doubles
No. 1 - #52 Edge/Moonen (MT) def. Ruo/Volk (W&M) – 7-6 (2)
No. 2 – Rauch/Rocha (MT) vs. Bautil/Vasser (W&M) – DNF, 6-5
No. 3 – Morrell/Motl (MT) def. Talcott/Quiros (W&M) – 6-2
Finishing Order: 3, 1*