ELON, N.C. – Sophomores Sebastian Quiros and Finbar Talcott rallied for three-set wins at the top two singles positions as the William & Mary men's tennis team erased a 3-1 deficit to advance to the Colonial Athletic Association Semifinals on Thursday afternoon. The Tribe topped Drexel, 4-3, in the thrilling league quarterfinal at the Burlington Tennis Center.
 
The Dragons jumped out to a 2-0 lead by taking the doubles point and winning the opening singles contest in three sets at No. 6. Sophomore Chen Ruo got the Tribe on the board with a win on line five, but the deficit was 3-1 after a second Drexel's three-set win at No. 3.
 
The comeback commenced with freshman Oren Vasser's straight-sets win at No. 4. Talcott then pulled the Tribe even rallying from a set deficit to defeat Youssef Lahlou via 6-4, 7-5 wins in the final two sets.
 
The match came down to the No. 1 spot where Quiros and Drexel's all-time wins leader Sinan Orhon locked horns. Tied at three in the final set, the Tribe sophomore ripped off the final three games to clinch W&M's victory. 
 
How It Happened
- After Drexel won at the No. 2 doubles post, the initial point of the match came down to tiebreaker contests at No. 1 and No. 3. The Dragons' duo of Lahlou and Juan Sanchez outlasted Talcott and freshman Daniel Pellerito, 7-6 (3), to clinch the doubles point for Drexel.
- Following a Dragons' win at the No. 6 spot, sophomore Chen Ruo gave W&M its first victory of the afternoon with a straight-sets triumph on line five. He topped Gustav Wogen, 7-6 (5), 6-4, to close the Tribe within 2-1. Ruo notched his 11th win of the year and fifth in dual-match competition.
- The Tribe faced an uphill climb following Drexel's three-set win at No. 3 that increased the Dragons' lead to 3-1. Freshman Oren Vasser cut the deficit in half with a win on line four. The Green and Gold rookie rallied for a 4-1 first-set deficit to claim the opener in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (3), over Alvaro Chamorro. Vasser notched his 13th win of the year and his sixth at No. 4 with a 6-3 triumph in the second.
- After dropping the first set to Lahlou, 6-4, at No. 2, Talcott pulled even with a 6-4 victory of his own in the second. The Tribe sophomore pulled W&M even at three and recorded his 13th singles win of the year with a 7-5 victory in the decisive third set. Talcott tallied his seventh dual-match victory and his second on line two.
- The balance of the match came down to a three-setter at the top spot. Drexel's Sinan Orhon claimed the opening set, 6-4, before Quiros responded with a 7-5 triumph in the second. The counterparts were locked into a three-all dual in the third when the Tribe sophomore won the match's final three games to pull out the win. He clinched the Tribe victory with a long rally on match point, dropping in a winner at the net to set off a Green and Gold celebration. Quiros notched his team-leading 19th singles win of the year and improved to 4-3 at the top spot.
 
Up Next
- The Tribe advances to Friday's CAA Semifinals to take on No. 2-seeded Elon, who downed Hofstra, 4-0, on Thursday.
- The match carries a 2 p.m. start time and has been moved indoors to the Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center in Greensboro, N.C. due to impending severe weather.
- Live stats are available at CAASports.com.
 
#3 William & Mary 4, #6 Drexel 3
Singles
No. 1 – Sebastian Quiros (W&M) def. Sinan Orhon (Drexel) – 4-6, 7-5, 6-3
No. 2 – Finbar Talcott (W&M) def. Youssef Lahlou (Drexel) – 4-6, 6-4, 7-5
No. 3 – Sanil Jagtiani (Drexel) def. Brenden Volk (W&M) – 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
No. 4 – Oren Vasser (W&M) def. Alvaro Chamorro (Drexel) – 7-6 (3), 6-3
No. 5 – Chen Ruo (W&M) def. Gustav Wogen (Drexel) – 7-6 (5), 6-4
No. 6 – Xandy Hammitt (Drexel) def. Jack Kelly (W&M) – 2-6, 6-2, 6-2
Finishing Order: 6, 5, 3, 4, 2, 1*
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Volk/Ruo (W&M) vs. Orhon/Wogen (Drexel) – DNF, 6-6
No. 2 – Hammitt/Jagtiani (Drexel) def. Bautil/Vasser (W&M) – 6-3
No. 3 – Lahlou/Sanchez (Drexel) def. Talcott/Pellerito (W&M) – 7-6 (3)
Finishing Order: 2, 3*