Men's Tennis Advances to CAA Semifinals

The Tribe downed James Madison, 4-0, in the Quarterfinals.

04/20/07 7:30PM

Newport News, Va. - The No. 36 William and Mary men’s tennis team advanced to the semifinals of the Colonial Athletic Association Championship with a 4-0 victory over No. 6-seeded James Madison on Friday afternoon at the Huntington Park Tennis Center. The No. 3-seeded Tribe claimed the doubles point before notching singles wins at the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 6 positions to secure the victory. The Tribe improved to 16-10 overall this season.

W&M started off by claiming the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles slots to take the opening point of the contest. Sophomore Dominic Pagon and freshman Richard Wardell gave W&M the early cushion with an 8-3 victory at No. 2 over Carlin Campbell and Brian Clay. The tandem of junior Kavi Sud and sophomore Alex Zuck iced the point with an 8-5 win at the No. 3 slot, downing John Snead and Brian Rubenstein.

Sophomore Marwan Ramadan made quick work of Snead at the No. 2 singles position to extend the College’s lead to 2-0. Ramadan dropped only one game in a 6-1, 6-0 victory. Freshman Keziel Juneau, playing his first match at the No. 1 slot, pushed the Tribe one win closer with a victory at the top slot. He disposed of Jesse Tarr, 6-2, 6-3. Wardell finished off the Dukes with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Rubenstein at the No. 6 slot.

W&M will face No. 2-seeded and 32nd-ranked Old Dominion in the semifinals on Saturday, April 21, at 1 p.m. The College won a five-hour marathon against the Monarchs in Williamsburg, 4-3, on April 3. The other semifinal match will be No. 24 VCU against No. 50 Georgia State and is also slated for 1 p.m. The winners will meet in the championship match at 1 p.m. on Sunday, April 22. The winner of the 2007 CAA Tournament will receive the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Match Notes
The Tribe improved to 25-18 all-time in the CAA Tournament … W&M notched its 21st victory in the all-time series with JMU, including its second this season … The College has won 12 straight against the Dukes … Pagon and Wardell notched their first dual match victory as a team in doubles … The doubles win was Wardell’s 18th of the year, moving him within one doubles win of 10th on the W&M Freshman list … Sud and Zuck upped their doubles mark to 5-2 with the victory … Ramadan improved to 18-14 overall, tallying his fourth win at the No. 2 singles position … Juneau moved into a tied for 10th on the W&M Freshman Singles Wins list with his 23rd of the season … He played and won his first ever match at the No. 1 singles position … Wardell won his 19th singles match of the season and his 12th during the dual match season.

Photo Gallery

#36 William and Mary 4, James Madison 0
Singles
No. 1 – Keziel Juneau (W&M) def. Jesse Tarr (JMU) – 6-2, 6-3
No. 2 – Marwan Ramadan (W&M) def. John Snead (JMU) – 6-1, 6-0
No. 3 – Alex Zuck (W&M) vs. Mike Smith (JMU) – 6-3, 5-2, abandoned
No. 4 – Kavi Sud (W&M) vs. Brian Clay (JMU) – 6-2, 2-1, abandoned
No. 5 – Dominic Pagon (W&M) vs. Carlin Campbell (JMU) – 6-4, 5-2, abandoned
No. 6 – Richard Wardell (W&M) def. Brian Rubenstein (JMU) – 6-3, 6-4
Finishing Order: 2, 1, 6*

Doubles
No. 1 - #35 Cojanu/Juneau (W&M) vs. Tarr/Smith (JMU) – 7-7, abandoned
No. 2 – Wardell/Pagon (W&M) def. Campbell/Clay (JMU) – 8-3
No. 3 – Sud/Zuck (W&M) def. Snead/Rubenstein (JMU) – 8-5
Finishing Order: 2, 3*