Tribe Stays Perfect in the CAA, Drops Georgia State

The Tribe won its fifth straight match in knocking off the defending CAA Champion Panthers.

02/15/08 9:30PM

Williamsburg - The No. 43-ranked William and Mary men’s tennis team defeated its second ranked opponent in as many tries and their fourth of the season, dropping defending CAA Champion Georgia State, ranked #72 nationally, in a 5-2 win at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center on Friday night. The College won its fifth straight match, improving to 10-3 on the season to go along with a perfect 3-0 CAA ledger.

The Tribe jumped early on doubles, taking convincing wins at the second and third positions to go up 1-0. The No. 3 team of senior Kavi Sud and freshman Sebastian Vidal defeated Trenton Spinks and Ross Hopper, 8-2, improving their record to 6-1 for the season. Their victory was followed shortly by a No. 2 win by first-time combo of freshman Ben Wirth and junior Dominic Pagon over Aleksandar Elezovic and Will Adeimy.

In singles action, the Tribe again struck early and often. Sophomore Richard Wardell disposed of the Panthers’ Ross Hopper at the No. 6 position, 6-1, 6-0, in a match that took just over half an hour. The win was Wardell’s 10th of the year and third straight. Fellow classmate Keziel Juneau then defeated Aleksandar Elezovic, 6-0, 6-1, improving to 11-8 on the season and putting the Tribe up 3-0.

Vidal clinched the win for the Tribe with a 6-2, 6-4 win at the No. 4 position over Will Adeimy. The win was Vidal’s ninth of the season and the first match-clinching victory of his collegiate career. Junior Marwan Ramadan then dropped GSU freshman Trenton Spinks, 6-2, 6-3, improving his record to 15-7. The Alexandria, Va., native now leads the Tribe in winning percentage at .682.

The Green and Gold lost the top two singles spots in the final finishers of the evening. Senior Alex Cojanu won his first set over Nejc Podkrajsek at the No. 1 position, 6-0, but lost some rhythm after an injury timeout, falling in the second set, 7-5. The Panther player claimed the win with a 10-7 victory in the super tiebreaker. At No. 2, Dominic Pagon fought the entire night, coming back from down 4-3 to win his first set over Anze Cevka 6-4, but dropped the second set, 6-4, before falling in a super tiebreaker, 10-6.

The Tribe will finish its six-match homestand on Sunday, Feb. 17, when its faces No. 24 Rice and look to continue their conference dominance in a CAA match against James Madison. Those matches are slated for 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., respectively, both at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center.

#43 William and Mary 5, #72 Georgia State 2
Singles
No. 1 - Nejc Podkrajsek (GSU) def. Alex Cojanu (W&M) - 0-6, 7-5, 10-7
No. 2 - #89 Anze Cevka (GSU) def. Dominic Pagon (W&M) - 4-6, 6-4, 10-6
No. 3 - Keziel Juneau (W&M) def. Aleksandar Elezovic (GSU) - 6-0, 6-1
No. 4 - Sebastian Vidal (W&M) def. Will Adeimy (GSU) - 6-2, 6-4
No. 5 - Marwan Ramadan (W&M) def. Trenton Spings (GSU) - 6-2, 6-3
No. 6 - Richard Wardell (W&M) def. Ross Hopper (GSU) - 6-1, 6-0
Finishing Order: 6, 3, 4*, 5, 1, 2

Doubles
No. 1 – Podkrajsek/Cevka (GSU) def. #33 Cojanu/Juneau(W&M) - 8-7 (6)
No. 2 – Ben Wirth/Pagon (W&M) def. Elezovic/Adeimy (GSU) - 8-3
No. 3 – Kavi Sud/Vidal (W&M) def. Spinks/Hopper (GSU) - 8-2
Finishing Order: 3, 2*, 1