WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – William & Mary men's tennis turned in a strong singles effort, winning five of six matches on the way to a season-opening victory over Norfolk State, 5-2, on Wednesday night at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center.
 
After W&M dropped the doubles point, sophomore Nikita Bortnichek (No. 4), senior Alexander Karman (No. 5), and freshman Raz Katz (No. 6) won convincingly in straight sets to put the Tribe in front, 3-1. Sophomore Oliver Hague clinched the team win with a three-set win at the top singles post, while freshman Gur Trakhtenberg rounded out the win behind a three-set victory of his own at No. 2.
 
How It Happened
- Hague and Trakhtenberg won at the top doubles position, 6-2, over Vladisav Gorbatenko and Deniz Okyay to even their record at 4-4 on the year. Norfolk State countered with victories at No. 2 and No. 3 to take a 1-0 lead.
- Bortnichek and Karman wasted little time putting the Tribe in front. Each player dropped just two games on the way to straight-set wins. Karman made quick work of Michele Elia, 6-1, 6-1, at No. 5, before Bortnichek bounced Frederick McRae, 6-2, 6-0, on line four. Both Tribe players recorded their six singles wins of the season.
- Katz increased the Tribe lead to 3-1 taking matching 6-2 sets over Luca Cvjetkovic at No. 6. The Tribe rookie evened his singles ledger at 6-6.
- Hague needed three sets at the top spot but won his sixth match in a row and 10th overall to clinch W&M's season-opening victory. The Tribe sophomore blanked Gorbatenko in the first set, 6-0, before the Spartan player answered with a tiebreaker win in the second, 7-6 (2). Hauge dropped just two games in the decisive third to cement the team triumph, 6-2.
- Trakhtenberg rounded out the victory with a come-from-behind triumph on line two. After dropping the first set to Jakub Solarski, 6-4, the Tribe freshman rallied to take the match by winning the final two, 7-5, 6-2. It was Trakhtenberg's 10th singles win of the season.
 
Up Next
The Tribe travels to the Midwest for a pair of matches over the weekend. W&M heads to Notre Dame on Saturday, Feb. 8, for an 11 a.m. contest with the Irish. The following day, the Green and Gold squares off with Northern Illinois at 10 a.m. in Notre Dame, Ind.
 
William & Mary 5, Norfolk State 2
Singles
No. 1 – Oliver Hague (W&M) def. Vladisav Gorbatenko (NSU) – 6-0, 6-7 (2), 6-2
No. 2 – Gur Trakhtenberg (W&M) def. Jakub Solarski (NSU) – 4-6, 7-5, 6-2
No. 3 – Deniz Okyay (NSU) def. Albert Hansen (W&M) – 2-6, 6-1, 6-2
No. 4 – Nikita Bortnichek (W&M) def. Frederick McRae (NSU) – 6-2, 6-0
No. 5 – Alexander Karman (W&M) def. Michele Elia (NSU) – 6-1, 6-1
No. 6 – Raz Katz (W&M) def. Luca Cvjetkovic (NSU) – 6-2, 6-2
Finishing Order: 5, 4, 6, 1*, 3, 2
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Hague/Trakhtenberg (W&M) def. Gorbatenko/Okyay (NSU) – 6-2
No. 2 – Elia/Lunin (NSU) def. Katz/Hansen (W&M) – 6-0
No. 3 – Solarski/McRae (NSU) def. Bortnichek/Karman (W&M) – 6-4
Finishing Order: 2, 1, 3*