WILLIAMSBURG, VA. – William & Mary suffered its first loss of the 2020 season, dropping a nail-biter to Liberty, 4-3, on Sunday afternoon at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center. The Tribe fell to 4-1 on the season, while Liberty, which was coming off a win over Virginia Tech, improved to 5-3.
How It Happened
- The Tribe earned the doubles point with hard-fought victories at No. 1 and No. 3 to take a 1-0 lead. W&M won the doubles point for the fifth-straight match to start the year, going an impressive 13-1 overall at the three spots.
- Tied at three-all at the top doubles spot, senior
Brenden Volk and freshman
George Davis pulled away from Liberty's Nicaise Muamba and Steve Mundt thanks to three-straight games to pick up a 6-3 victory. The Tribe duo ran its dual-match ledger to a perfect 5-0.
- W&M also won at No. 3 with sophomore
Daniel Pellerito and junior
Finbar Talcott earning a competitive 7-5 win over Deji Thomas-Smith and Ian Sturgill to lock up the doubles point. The win was the Tribe pair's fourth of the season as it improved to 3-0 in dual-match competition.
- Volk increased the Tribe lead to 2-0 with his third-straight win. He kicked off singles by cruising to his seventh victory of the year, 6-3, 6-3, over Goncalo Ferreira at No. 4. Volk is 3-1 in dual-match competition.
- The Flames answered with straight-sets wins at No. 1, No. 5 and No. 6 to take a 3-2 lead. The balance of the match came down three-setters at No. 2 and No. 3.
- Liberty's Josh Wilson rallied for a three-set win at No. 2 to clinch the Flames triumph. Junior
Finbar Talcott won the opening set over his Liberty counterpart, before Wilson answered with a 6-3 victory in the second. With the match even at four in the third set, Wilson won the final two games to clinch the victory.
- Junior
Sebastian Quiros rounded out the Tribe singles wins with a three-set victory at No. 3. It marked his second three-set win in as many days as he improved to 9-5 overall. He downed Chase Burton, 6-2, 5-7, 7-5.
Up Next
- Next weekend, the Tribe hits the road for the first time this season, traveling to a pair of Ivy League foes.
- First, W&M travels to Yale on Friday, Feb. 21, at 3 p.m., before heading to Brown on Sunday, Feb. 23, at 11 a.m.
Liberty 4, William & Mary 3
Singles
No. 1 – Nicaise Muamba (LU) def.
Joseph Brailovsky (W&M) – 6-3, 6-3
No. 2 – Josh Wilson (LU) def.
Finbar Talcott (W&M) – 6-7, 6-3, 6-4
No. 3 –
Sebastian Quiros (W&M) def. Chase Burton (LU) – 6-2, 5-7, 7-5
No. 4 –
Brenden Volk (W&M) def. Goncalo Ferreira (LU) – 6-3, 6-3
No. 5 – Rafael Masrques Da Silva (LU) def.
George Davis (W&M) – 7-6, 6-0
No. 6 – Ian Sturgill (LU) def.
Daniel Pellerito (W&M) – 7-5, 6-3
Finishing Order: 4, 5, 6, 1, 2*, 3
Doubles
No. 1 – Davis/Volk (W&M) def. Muamba/Mundt (LU) – 6-3
No. 2 – Brailovsky/Chen (W&M) vs. Wilson/Ferreira (LU) – 6-6 (DNF)
No. 3 – Pellerito/Talcott (W&M) def. Sturgill/Thomas-Smith (LU) – 7-5
Finishing Order: 1, 3*
