WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Trailing 3-1 and needing wins on every remaining court, William & Mary men's tennis displayed a championship mettle, rallying for a 4-3 victory over Elon on Saturday evening at the Millie West Tennis Facility, and in the process, earned a spot in the Colonial Athletic Association Championship.
 
Following wins from senior Chen Ruo (No. 6) and graduate student Lev Kazakov (No. 2) pull the Tribe even, the spot in the title match came down to a tiebreaker at the No. 4. After rallying from a set deficit and an early break in the third, senior Finbar Talcott capped the comeback with a tiebreaker win, 7-6 (4), over Camile Ponce to send the Tribe (9-5) into celebration on court 4. 
 
After the Tribe claimed a thrilling doubles point thanks to graduate student Brenden Volk and sophomore George Davis's win at No. 1, Elon (15-6) gained momentum in singles, winning five of six first sets. The Phoenix took a 3-1 lead behind wins at No. 1, No. 3 and No. 5.
 
Slowly the Tribe gained its way back as Talcott and Ruo picked up second-set wins at No. 4 and No. 6. Ruo narrowed the gap to 3-2, winning the final two sets on line six in matching 6-3 fashion over Chung-Han Tsai.

After Elon's Akram El Sallaly forced a third set at No. 2, Kazakov steamrolled in the third to tie the match at three and set the scene in nail-biter at No. 4.
 
How It Happened
- The Tribe claimed an intense doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 3. The point came down a back-and-forth affair at the top spot. Volk and Davis jumped to a 4-0 lead before El Sallaly and Tsai claimed four games in a row to pull even. Tied at five, the Tribe's top team won the final two games, including breaking Elon for a 7-5 clinching win. Volk and Davis improved to 7-5 on the year.
- After the Phoenix won at No. 2, the Tribe answered with a victory at No. 3 in come-from-behind fashion. Elon's Nicholas Campbell and Nicholas Condos broke to go on top 3-2, but Ruo and Talcott responded with three-straight games to surge in front 5-3. After Elon broke to get back on serve, the Tribe pair broke back in the 10th game to claim a match 6-4. Ruo and Talcott won for the second time at the tournament and improved to 4-3 overall.
- Elon rallied to win a trio of singles matches at No. 1, No. 3 and No. 5 to take a 3-1 lead. The final three matches at No. 2, No. 4 and No. 6 all went to three sets.
- At No. 6, Ruo rallied from a set deficit to pull the Tribe within 3-2. Tsai claimed the opening set, 6-1, before Ruo raced out to a 3-0 lead in the second on the way to a 6-3 win. In the decisive third, the Tribe senior again jumped out to a 3-0 lead. After Tsai closed to within 4-3, Ruo won the final two games for his second win in as many days at the CAA championship, 6-3. Ruo moved to 4-1 on line six.
- Kazakov pulled the Tribe even with a three-set win at No. 2. The graduate student took the opening set, 6-3, before El Sallaly rallied to take the second, 7-5. Kazakov would not be out done, rolling in the third, 6-1, to tie the match at three. He upped his mark to 7-3 at No. 2.
- The match came down to the No. 4 spot. After Elon's Camilo Ponce won the opening set, 6-2, Talcott answered with a 6-4 in the second. Ponce jumped out to a break advantage in the third, before the Tribe senior broke back and the match eventually went to a tiebreaker. Talcott led 4-2 at the breaker change over and surged to a 7-4 win clinching the Tribe triumph. He won for the second-straight day at the championship and improved to 8-6 on the year.  
 
Up Next
The Tribe advances to Sunday's CAA Championship match at 1 p.m. against top-seeded UNCW at the Millie West Tennis Facility. The Seahawks advanced thanks to a 4-0 win over No. 5 seed JMU in the other semifinal.
 
William & Mary is the host of the 2021 CAA Tennis Championship at the Millie West Tennis Facility. The event is closed to the general public. Sunday's championship match will be limited to team and player pass lists to keep the Millie West Tennis Facility within the limits of COVID-19 capacity. If matches are moved indoors due to inclement weather, the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center will be closed to all spectators.

#3 William & Mary 4, #2 Elon 3
Singles
No. 1 - Kyle Frankel (Elon) def. Brenden Volk (W&M) – 6-2, 6-4
No. 2 - Lev Kazakov (W&M) def. Akram El Sallaly (Elon) – 6-3, 5-7, 6-1
No. 3 - Nicholas Condos (Elon) def. George Davis (W&M) – 6-4, 6-1
No. 4 - Finbar Talcott (W&M) def. Camilo Ponce (Elon) – 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4)
No. 5 - Nicholas Campbell (Elon) def. Sebastian Quiros (W&M) – 6-4, 6-3
No. 6 – Chen Ruo (W&M) def. Chung-Han Tsai (Elon) – 1-6, 6-3, 6-3
Finishing Order: 3, 1, 5, 6, 2, 4*

Doubles
No. 1 – Volk/Davis (W&M) def. El Sallaly/Tsai (Elon) – 7-5
No. 2 – Frankel/Ponce (Elon) def. Kazakov/Quiros (W&M) – 6-1
No. 3 – Talcott/Ruo (W&M) def. Campbell/Condos (Elon) – 6-4
Finishing Order: 2, 3, 1*