WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – William & Mary men's tennis rallied for its third-straight victory behind a trio of come-from-behind three-set singles wins to top in-state foe Richmond, 5-2, on Wednesday afternoon.
 
The Tribe (9-9) found itself in a 2-1 hole and dropped the opening set in three of the remaining four matches. The graduate student trio of Joseph Brailovsky (No. 2), Bill Duo (No. 4) and Andres Silva (No. 5) rallied for three-set wins as W&M won five of the six singles match-ups.
 
Sophomores Sean Joseph and Alexander Karman started the Tribe's singles barrage with straight-sets victories at No. 3 and No. 6.
 
How it Happened
- Richmond (11-7) took the doubles point with victories at No. 1 and No. 3 to open up a 1-0 lead.
- Joseph responded quickly for the Tribe, winning in dominant fashion in singles action. Moving back up to the No. 3 spot, the Tribe sophomore dropped just two games in each set to down John Walsh, 6-2, 6-2. It was Joseph's third-straight win as he improved to 9-7 on the year.
- After a Spider win at No. 1, Karman brought the Green and Gold back even at two with a victory on line six. He notched his 12th win of the season, topping Mark Taranov, 6-4, 6-3. Karman improved to 6-4 in dual-match action.
- The tide turned in the Tribe's favor as Brailovsky surged in front in the third set at No. 2. During that same stretch, both Duo and Silva rallied to force third sets on lines four and five.
- After dropping the opening set at the second spot, Brailovsky pulled even with a 6-2 win in the second. He raced out to a 4-1 lead in the third before breaking William Karpinski in the final game for his fourth-straight win, 6-3. Brailovsky won his 20th match of the season and improved to 10-6 in dual-match action.
- With the Tribe leading 3-2, Duo and Silva raced to be the clinching match behind dominant third-set performances.
- After dropping the first set, Duo railed 4-0 deficit in the second set before winning seven of the final eight games of the set to pull even behind a 7-5 triumph. He rolled in the final set, breaking UR's Sebastian Miano in the final game to post a 6-1 victory. It was Duo's second-straight win, his ninth overall and sixth in dual-match action.
- At No. 5, Richmond's Alex Wernink won the opening set in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (4), before Silva won the final two games of the second set to take a 6-4 victory. The Tribe grad student jumped out to a commanding 4-0 lead in the third on his way to a 6-1 triumph. Silva notched his 10th win of the year and evened his dual-match record at 7-7.
 
Up Next
The Tribe wraps up the regular season when it welcomes another in-state rival to the Mackesy Tennis Center in VCU on Tuesday, April 18. The match carries a 4 p.m. start time.
 
William & Mary 5, Richmond 2
Singles
No. 1 – Daniel Kliebhan (UR) def. George Davis (W&M) – 6-3, 6-4
No. 2 – Joseph Brailovsky (W&M) def. William Karpinski (UR) – 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
No. 3 – Sean Joseph (W&M) def. John Walsh (UR) – 6-2, 6-2
No. 4 – Bill Duo (W&M) def. Sebastian Miano (UR) – 5-7, 7-5, 6-1
No. 5 – Andres Silva (W&M) def. Alex Wernink (UR) – 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-1
No. 6 – Alexander Karman (W&M) def. Mark Taranov (UR) – 6-4, 6-3
Finishing Order: 3, 1, 6, 2, 4*, 5
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Kliebhan/Karpinski (UR) def. Davis/Duo (W&M) – 6-3
No. 2 – Brailovsky/Karman (W&M) vs. Walsh/Wernink (UR) – DNF, 6-5
No. 3 – Miano/Burke (UR) def. Hansen/Joseph (W&M) – 6-4
Finishing Order: 1, 3*