LEXINGTON, Va. – The 25th-ranked Washington and Lee men's tennis team won its 13th straight and 41st overall ODAC title on Sunday in a 5-0 win over Averett
Junior
Connor Coleman (Birmingham, Ala. / Briarwood Christian) and sophomore
James Kurani (Charlotte, N.C. / Providence Day) gave the Generals (17-5) their first point of the match with an 8-2 win at No. 3, before senior
Evan Brady (Glen Head, N.Y. / Chaminade) and sophomore
Evan Erb (St. Louis, Mo. / MICDS) battled to an 8-5 win at No. 1.
In No. 3 doubles, sophomores
Will Kistler (Hilton Head, S.C. / Laurel Springs School) and
Eli Hirshberg (Alpharetta, Ga. / Johns Creek) took an early 3-0 lead, before Prabjeet Chandhok and Kazuki Fukushima of Averett (14-5) won six straight games to take a 6-3 advantage. Kistler and Hirshberg responded with three straight wins to get it back to 6-6, and the two sides went on to split the next two games to go to a tiebreak. Kistler and Hirshberg then won by a 7-5 score to keep the team shutout alive heading into singles play.
Erb and Brady were responsible for the final two team points of the match. Erb cruised at No. 1 to a 6-1, 6-0 win over Shori Nishizoe, and Brady's 6-1, 6-2 win over Prabjeet Chandhok at No. 3 closed things out.
Kistler (2) and Hirshberg (4) were both up a set at the completion of the match, with Hirshberg nearing a win of his own, 6-2, 5-2 over Kazuki Fukushima.
With the win, the Generals earn the ODAC's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Championship. The site and opponent will be revealed on Monday.
