W&M Duo Upsets No. 2-Ranked Stanford Team at All-American Championships

Alex Cojanu and Keziel Juneau advanced to the round of 16 with the victory over the No. 2-ranked team nationally.

10/04/07 9:30PM

Tulsa, Okla. - The William and Mary men’s tennis tandem of senior Alex Cojanu and sophomore Keziel Juneau upset the No. 2-ranked team from Stanford in the opening round of the Polo Ralph Lauren All-American Tennis Doubles Championship on Thursday evening. The 11th-ranked W&M pair downed Matt Bruch and Blake Muller of Stanford, 9-7, to garner a spot in the round of 16. The University of Tulsa is hosting the All-American Championships at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center.

“Stanford has always been a great team with rich tradition,” head coach Peter Daub said. “Today, due to our hustle and desire, we were able to hang with them and prevail in the end. Both Alex and Keziel deserve a lot of credit for the belief in themselves that they could win the match.”

It looked as though the match between the Tribe and Cardinal was headed to a tiebreak as Stanford jumped out to a 40-0 lead in the 16th game with W&M leading 8-7. Cojanu and Juneau rallied with three straight points to force duce. The Tribe pair continued the onslaught, taking the final two points to claim the match. The win upped the pair’s season mark to 2-1.

The victory for Cojanu marks the second straight season in which he has played on a doubles team that has upset a team ranked among the nation’s elite. Last season, Cojanu and then-senior Colin O’Brien defeated the No. 1-ranked and defending national champion Georgia duo of Luis Flores and John Isner in the Tribe’s dual match with the Bulldogs in February. The win also marks the third nationally ranked team Cojanu and Juneau have defeated as a pair over the last two seasons.

Cojand and Juneau advance to the round of 16 where they will meet the No. 20-ranked Mississippi pair of Jonas Berg and Erling Tveit. The Rebel duo defeated Luis Diaz Barriga and Ed Corrie of Texas, 8-6 in the opening round. Last season Tveit paired with Eric Claesson to earn All-American honors for Mississippi. Both the round of 16 and quarter-final will be competed on Friday, Oct. 5.

W&M Results from the Polo Ralph Lauren All-American Championships
Doubles First Round
Cojanu/Juneau (W&M) [11] def. #2 Bruch/Muller (Stanford) [2] – 9-7