FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – Entering the national ranks at No. 39 in the newest ITA Division III rankings released on Friday, the Washington and Lee men's tennis team rallied from an early deficit to topple No. 26 Mary Washington, 5-4, on the road.
With the match tied at four points apiece, the No. 4 singles match between W&L's (7-4)
Eli Hirshberg (Alpharetta, Ga. / Johns Creek) and UMW's (4-3) Peter Leese was left to decide the match. Hirshberg cruised to a 6-2 first-set win, before Leese rebounded with a 6-2 win of his own. The third set then went all the way to a tiebreak, where Hirshberg won 7-of-9 points to claim his match and the team's win as well.
The Generals went into singles down by a 2-1 margin, which increased to 3-1 when Andrew Watson defeated W&L sophomore
Will Kistler (Hilton Head, S.C. / Laurel Springs School) at No. 2. W&L then pulled ahead by a 4-3 score thanks to wins at No. 5 from junior
Connor Coleman (Birmingham, Ala. / Briarwood Christian), No. 3 from senior
Evan Brady (Glen Head, N.Y. / Chaminade) and No. 1 from sophomore
Evan Erb (St. Louis, Mo. / MICDS).
Ryan Meyer kept the Eagles' winning hopes alive with a win at No. 6, before Hirshberg's and Leese's thriller of a finale.
The Generals will return to ODAC play in their next matches on March 15. They will send a group to Ferrum and another group to Guilford, with both matches slated for 4:00 pm starts.
