Tribe Men's Tennis Upsets Brown, 5-2

W&M Plays Final Match of Regular Season

04/05/03

PROVIDENCE, RI - William and Mary’s 45th-ranked men’s tennis team ended its regular season on a high note, upsetting No. 39 Brown, 5-2, this afternoon. The win improves the Tribe’s record to 14-8, while the Bears drop to 15-3.

Brown opened with a 1-0 lead after winning the doubles point. W&M won the No. 2 match, as junior Geoff Russell (Phoenix, AZ) and sophomore Alex Fish (Scituate, MA) defeated Nicholas Goldberg and Adil Shamasdin, 8-6.

W&M rebounded in singles, however, winning five of the six singles matches. Russell and freshman Stephen Ward (Douglaston, NY) won their contests in straight sets, with Russell defeating Shamasdin, 6-2, 6-3 at No. 3, and Ward earning a 6-4, 6-3 win at No. 4 over Goldberg. Sophomore Jeff Kader (Geneva, OH) came back after dropping his first set to win at No. 2 against Chris Drake, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6. Fish also dropped his first set, before eventually defeating Zachary Pasanen, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, in the fifth match. At No. 6, sophomore Zack Malmgren (Cibalo, TX) rounded out W&M’s scoring, defeating Ben Brier, 6-4, 6-7, 1-0 (15-13).

“This victory was the result of a total, combined effort from every individual on the team,” said Tribe head coach Peter Daub. “It is one of our proudest moments—to overcome the adversity we faced today and end up winning a great match with a very talented Brown team. Each player took ownership and fought his hardest in order to secure this victory. If any one player had not done that we would have lost.”

W&M returns to action the weekend of April 18-21 at the Colonial Athletic Association tournament. Seedings for the event will be voted on by the league’s head coaches and announced on Tuesday, April 15.

#45 William and Mary 5, #39 Brown 2
Singles
1. Jamie Cerretani (B) d. Sean Kelleher; 6-4, 6-2
2. Jeff Kader (W&M) d. Chris Drake; 4-6, 6-4, 7-6
3. Geoff Russell (W&M) d. Adil Shamasdin; 6-2, 6-3
4. Stephen Ward (W&M) d. Nicholas Goldberg; 6-4, 6-3
5. Alex Fish (W&M) d. Zachary Pasanen; 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
6. Zack Malmgren (W&M) d. Ben Brier; 6-4, 6-7, 1-0 (15-13)

Doubles
1. #24 Cerretani/Drake (B) d. Kelleher/Ward; 8-2
2. Fish/Russell (W&M) d. Goldberg/Shamasdin; 8-6
3. Goddard/Pasanen (B) d. Kader/Malmgren; 8-5