WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Graduate student Brenden Volk turned it on in the third set to lead the William & Mary men's tennis team to a 4-3 season-opening win over defending Southern Conference champion ETSU on Sunday afternoon at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center.
 
After the Tribe won the doubles points, senior Finbar Talcott (No. 6) and sophomore George Davis (No. 5) joined Volk in picking up singles victories to help the Green and Gold to a season-opening win over an ETSU (0-3) team that already had two matches under its belt.
 
How It Happened
- The Tribe opened the match by capturing the doubles points with wins at the top two positions. The Green and Gold raced out to a 3-0 lead at both positions.
- Senior Chen Ruo and junior Joseph Brailovsky got the Tribe on the board with a convincing 6-1 win over Dimitri Badra and Thiago Pernas on line two. The duo improved to 8-2 over the last two seasons at No. 2.
- Volk and Davis clinched the initial point of the match with a win at No. 1. The Tribe tandem dispatched  Frazier Rengifo and Juan Sebastian Zabala, 6-3, improving to 8-3 at the top spot over the last two years.
- ETSU answered with straight-set singles wins at No. 1 and No. 3 to take a 2-1 lead, before Talcott drew the Tribe even. Playing on line six, Talcott upended Miguel Este, 6-2, 6-1, for his 42nd career win.
- The matches came down to three-set affairs at No. 2, No. 4 and No. 5.
- After dropping the first set, 6-2, Davis responded with a 6-4 win in the second against ETSU's Juan Sebastian Zabala. In the third set, the Tribe sophomore jumped out to a 4-1 lead on the way to a 6-4 victory to put W&M back on top, 3-2. It marked Davis's 15th career singles victory.
- In the clincher at No. 2, Volk claimed the opening set from Milo Bargeron, 6-4. The ETSU player answered with a 6-3 win in the second and jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the decisive third. The Tribe graduate student responded by winning four-straight games in taking a 5-3 lead. Volk put the match away, winning four-straight points in the 10th game, including an overhead smash on match point. It was Volk's 31st career singles win. Bargeron, who transferred to ETSU from Appalachian State, was a two-time All-Sun Belt Conference first-team selection as a freshman and sophomore.
 
Up Next
The Tribe hits the road for a pair of matches on Feb. 13-14. W&M heads to Liberty on Saturday, Feb. 13, at 1 p.m., before traveling to Old Dominion Sunday, Feb. 14 at 1 p.m.
 
William & Mary 4, ETSU 3
Singles
No. 1 – Frazier Rengifo (ETSU def. Sebastian Quiros (W&M) – 6-3, 6-0
No. 2 – Brenden Volk (W&M) def. Milo Bargeron (ETSU) – 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
No. 3 – Dimitri Badra (ETSU) def. Joseph Brailovsky (W&M) – 6-4, 6-0
No. 4 – Thiago Pernas (ETSU) def. Daniel Pellerito (W&M) – 4-6, 7-5, 6-4
No. 5 – George Davis (W&M) def. Juan Sebastian Zabala (ETSU) – 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
No. 6 – Finbar Talcott (W&M) def. Miguel Este (ETSU) – 6-2, 6-1
Finishing Order: 1, 3, 6, 5, 2*, 4
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Davis/Volk (W&M) def. Rengifo/Zabala (ETSU) – 6-3
No. 2 – Brailovsky/Ruo (W&M) def. Badra/Pernas (ETSU) – 6-1
No. 3 – Lugo/Este (ETSU) def. Talcott/Pellerito (W&M) – 6-4
Finishing Order: 2, 1*, 3