Tribe Men’s Tennis Upsets No. 33 San Diego State, 7-0

01/13/04 10:22PM

SAN DIEGO, CA - William and Mary’s 47th-ranked men’s tennis team upset No. 33 San Diego State, 7-0, on the road this evening. The win improves the Tribe’s record to 2-0 on the year, while the Aztecs fall to 0-1.

The two teams split the first two completed doubles matches, with Tribe juniors Alex Fish (Scituate, MA) and Jeff Kader (Geneva, OH) winning at No. 3 over Armando Carrascosa/Daniel Jung, 8-6. With the Aztecs taking the top match, the team doubles point depended on the result of the match on court two, where the W&M duo of junior Sean Kelleher (Forty Fort, PA) and sophomore Stephen Ward (Douglaston, NY), down 7-4, came back to win the decisive match, 9-7, over Michael Coehlo and Markus Dickhardt.

The inspired Tribe used the momentum gained from that comeback to quickly cruise through the singles portion, winning all six contests, including five in straight sets. The only three-setter came at the top position, where Kader, ranked 26th in the nation, knocked off his fifth ranked opponent of the 2003-04 campaign, defeating No. 56 Felix Hardt, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1. Kelleher won at No. 2, 6-2, 6-3 over Dickhardt and Fish defeated Carrascosa, 6-2, 6-2 at No. 5. On court three, freshman Steven Kane (Nokomis, FL) defeated Jung, 7-6, 6-3, while senior Geoff Russell (Phoenix, AZ) beat Ryan Redondo, 6-2, 6-2 at No. 4. Rookie Colin O’Brien (Dublin, Ireland) completed the shutout with an easy, 6-3, 6-0, victory at No. 6 over Coehlo.

“We beat a very good San Diego State team today that will continue to get better throughout the season,” said W&M head coach Peter Daub. “We were prepared and the players came out and fought hard. Coming back in doubles and saving six match points to go on to win the point gave us great momentum going into singles."

The Tribe returns to action on Saturday, January 17, with a match at 30th-ranked Boise State.

#47 William and Mary 7, #33 San Diego State 0
Singles
1. #26 Jeff Kader (W&M) d. #56 Feliz Hardt; 6-2, 3-6, 6-1
2. Sean Kelleher (W&M) d. Markus Dickhardt; 6-2, 6-3
3. Steven Kane (W&M) d. Daniel Jung; 7-6, 6-3
4. Geoff Russell (W&M) d. Ryan Redondo; 6-2, 6-2
5. Alex Fish (W&M) d. Armando Carrascosa; 6-2, 6-2
6. Colin O’Brien (W&M) d. Michael Coehlo; 6-3, 6-0

Doubles
1. #9 Hardt/Redondo (SDSU) d. #28 Kane/Russell; 9-7
2. Kelleher/Stephen Ward (W&M) d. Coehlo/Dickhardt; 9-7
3. Fish/Kader (W&M) d. Carrascosa/Jung; 8-6