Tribe Falls to Western Michigan, 4-3

Junior Marwan Ramadan claimed his 20th singles win of the season with a victory at the No. 2 spot against the Broncos.

04/04/08 11:00PM

South Bend, Ind. - The No. 63-ranked William and Mary men’s tennis team dropped a heartbreaker to Western Michigan, 4-3, on Friday afternoon in South Bend, Ind. After dropping the opening point of the match in doubles, the Tribe could not rally only garnering a split in singles play to drop a tight affair. With W&M needing three wins in the final four three-set affairs to secure the team victory, the Broncos garnered a split with two wins to notch the team win. The Tribe fell to 12-11 on the year, while Western Michigan improved to 15-7 overall.

After the Broncos swept the doubles to garner the initial point of the contest, WMU took a 2-0 lead with a straight sets win at the No. 4 singles slot. Freshman Sebastien Vidal pulled the Tribe within one as he claimed his third three-set win of the year. He bounced Bryan Norville, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2, with his 12th singles win of the year.

Following a singles win at the No. 3 spot extended the Bronco lead to 3-1, W&M pulled even with a pair of triumphs at the No. 2 and No. 6 slots. After dropping the first set, 6-3, to Michael Calderone, senior Kavi Sud won his 40th career singles match with victories in the second and third sets, 6-4, 6-3. It was the Tribe tri-captain’s fourth singles win of the season.

Junior Marwan Ramadan knotted the match with his 20th singles victory of the season, upending Kazuya Komada, 7-5, 6-3, at the No. 2 position. Ramadan upped his mark to 3-1 at the No. 2 slot with his team-best 14th dual match victory of the season. The comeback would be for not though as Western Michigan took the top singles spot to claim the win.

The Tribe will return to action on Sunday, April 6, when it battles No. 34 Notre Dame in South Bend. The match is slated for 11 a.m. start time.

Western Michigan 4, #63 William and Mary 3
Singles
No. 1 – Kevin Hayward (WMU) def. Alex Cojanu (W&M) – 6-3, 2-6, 6-3
No. 2 – Marwan Ramadan (W&M) def. Kazuya Komada (WMU) – 7-5, 6-3
No. 3 – Alex Birchmeier (WMU) def. Dominic Pagon (W&M) – 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
No. 4 – Alejandro Staub (WMU) def. Keziel Juneau (W&M) – 6-4, 6-0
No. 5 – Sebastien Vidal (W&M) def. Bryan Norville (WMU) – 6-2, 3-6, 6-2
No. 6 – Kavi Sud (W&M) def. Michael Calderone (WMU) – 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
Finishing Order: 4, 5, 3, 6, 2, 1*

Doubles
No. 1 – Norville/Birchmeier (WMU) def. Cojanu/Pagon (W&M) – 8-5
No. 2 – Cullen/Hayward (WMU) def. Juneau/Wardell (W&M) – 8-5
No. 3 – Calderone/Komada (WMU) def. Kavi Sud/Vidal (W&M) – 8-6
Finishing Order: 1, 2*, 3