Tribe Claims Trio of Titles at Virginia State Open

Junior Dominic Pagon and freshman Ben Wirth won singles titles, while the pair of Pagon and sophomore Richard Wardell took home a doubles crown.

09/29/07 7:00PM

Charlottesville, Va. - The William and Mary men’s tennis team completed action at the Virginia State Open, claiming three of the five titles competed at the event on Saturday afternoon. Junior Dominic Pagon claimed the top singles bracket, while freshman Ben Wirth took home the B-1 Singles draw. The Tribe duo of Pagon and sophomore Richard Wardell won the B Doubles draw as well.

On his way to the title, Pagon defeated three of the top four seeds. In the semifinals, the Kingston, Jamaica native disposed of the tournament’s No. 1 seed Ivan Salec of Radford in straight sets, 7-6, 6-4. Pagon then jumped out to a 6-4, 2-1 lead over the No. 3 Lindgren of VCU before his Ram counterpart retired in the second set. With the victories, Pagon pushed his winning streak to seven-matches and improved to 7-1 on the year.

Wirth claimed the second Tribe singles title, winning the B-1 Singles draw. In the semifinals, Wirth defeated fellow classmate Ben Gullickson, 6-4, 6-1. Gullickson had earned a spot in the semifinals with a win over Schneider of George Mason, 1-6, 6-4, 6-3, earlier in the day. Wirth moved to 7-1 on his young career with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Rubenstein of James Madison in the championship of the B-1 singles flight.

In doubles, Pagon and Wardell took home the B Doubles draw with a trio of wins on Saturday. The W&M pair dispatched of Campbell and Rubenstein of James Madison, 8-2, in the quarterfinals, before beating Andoain and Barajas-Alexander of Longwood, 8-1, in the semifinals. The Tribe duo defeated the flight’s top seed of Meros and Sunderland of Virginia, 8-5, in the championship.

Zuck and freshman Sebastien Vidal advanced to the finals of the A Doubles flight with a pair of victories before falling to the top seed and nationally ranked James Madison of Tarr and Smith in the championship. Zuck and Vidal defeated the No. 3 seeded Liberty pair of Styn and Simpson, 8-6, in the quarterfinals, before knocking off the No. 2 seeded duo of Salec and Lloyd of Radford, 8-4, in the semifinals. The Tribe pair’s run in the tournament came to an end at the hands of the No. 46 nationally ranked JMU pair of Tarr and Smith in a tiebreaker, 9-8.

Also in the top doubles flight, the rookie pair of Wirth and Gullickson claimed the first two wins as a tandem in their careers. The W&M pair claimed the consolation bracket with an 8-4 win over Richmond’s Sommer and Farina in the semifinals and an 8-3 win over Lindsley and Milo Barajas-Alexander of Longwood in the finals.

In the A-2 Singles flight, Zuck won both his matches on Saturday to take the consolation finals. The Toms River, N.J., native claimed both his matches in straight sets, downing Simpson of Liberty, 6-3, 6-1, before disposing of Garcia de Andoain of Longwood, 6-4, 6-3. The wins pushed Zuck’s season mark to 4-3.

The Tribe will take part in the Polo Ralph Lauren All-American Championships, Oct. 1-7, in Tulsa, Okla. Senior Alex Cojanu and sophomore Keziel Juneau are ranked No. 11 nationally in doubles and will compete in the main doubles draw, while both players will also take part in the qualifying singles draw. The qualifying singles bracket begins on Oct. 1 with 16 spots available for the main singles draw, and the main doubles flight gets underway on Oct. 4.

W&M Results from the Virginia State Open
A-1 Singles Semifinals
Dominic Pagon (W&M) def. #1 Ivan Salec (Radford) – 7-6, 6-4

A-1 Singles Championship
Dominic Pagon (W&M) def. #3 Lindgren (VCU) – 6-4, 2-1, retire

A-2 Singles Semifinals
Israel (VCU) def. Sebastien Vidal (W&M) – 6-0, 6-0

A-2 Singles Consolation Semifinals
Alex Zuck (W&M) def. Simpson (Liberty) – 6-3, 6-1

A-2 Singles Consolation Championship
Alex Zuck (W&M) def. Garcia de Andoain (Longwood) – 6-4, 6-3

B-1 Singles Quarterfinals
Ben Gullickson (W&M) def. Schneider (GMU) – 1-6, 6-4, 6-3

B-1 Singles Semifinals
Ben Wirth (W&M) def. Ben Gullickson (W&M) – 6-4, 6-1

B-1 Single Championship
Ben Wirth (W&M) def. Rubenstein (JMU) – 6-1, 6-2

A Doubles Quarterfinals
Zuck/Vidal (W&M) def. #3 Styn/Simpton (Liberty) – 8-6

A Doubles Semifinals
Zuck/Vidal (W&M) def. #2 Salec/Lloyd (Radford) – 8-4

A Doubles Championship
#1 Tarr/Smith (JMU) def. Zuck/Vidal (W&M) – 9-8

A Singles Consolation Semifinals
Wirth/Gullickson (W&M) def. Sommer/Farina (Richmond) – 8-4

A Singles Consolation Finals
Wirth/Gullickson (W&M) def. Lindsley/Milo Barajas-Alexander (Longwood) – 8-3

B Doubles Quarterfinals
#2 Wardell/Pagon (W&M) def. Campbell/Rubenstein (JMU) – 8-2
#4 Pandit/Ramadan (W&M) def. Dietz/Levy (Binghamton) –

B Doubles Semifinals
#2 Wardell/Pagon (W&M) def. Andoain/Mani Barajas-Alexander – 8-1
#1 Meros/Sunderland (UVa) def. #4 Pandit/Ramadan (W&M) - 8-4

B Doubles Championship
#2 Wardell/Pagon (W&M) def. #1 Meros/Sunderland (UVa) – 8-5