DANVILLE, Va. – The 25th-ranked Washington and Lee men's tennis team secured team points in each of the first five matches at Averett and walked away with a 6-3 win on Saturday.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The Generals (11-5, 6-0 ODAC) cruised in doubles play as none of the three matches finished closer than 8-4. Senior
Josh Rassin and first-year
Heys Parker turned in an 8-4 win at No. 1, while juniors
Eli Hirshberg and
James Kurani had the same result at No. 2. Senior
Connor Coleman and first-year
Sanjheev Rao were winners at No. 3 by an 8-3 count.
Junior
Will Kistler (1) and Rao (3) were first to finish their singles matches, and they were the only two singles matches to end in straight sets. Both secured 6-4, 6-1 wins to clinch the team win for W&L.
The three Averett (3-7, 2-2 ODAC) team points came from the next three matches to finish, with Alex Rudy topping Coleman at No. 6, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1. Prabjeet Chandhok needed a third-set tiebreak to get past Kurani at No. 4, and he prevailed, 7-6 (8-6) in the third. With the team result having already been decided, Jaeden Mukkaladyil and Hirshberg played a 10-point breaker after splitting the first two sets. Both players fought hard to 12 points all, before Mukkaladyil won the next two points.
Parker rounded out the Generals' wins on the day with a three-set victory over Kazuki Fukushima at No. 5. Parker won the first set, 6-3, dropped the next in a tie break, 6-7 (4-7), and won the 10-point break in the third, 10-7.
UP NEXT:
The Generals will return to action on Sunday when they host Virginia Wesleyan at 1:00 p.m.
Nestled in the mountains of Virginia, Washington and Lee University is a proud member of NCAA Division III and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Founded in 1749, W&L is the ninth-oldest college in the United States and a top-ranked liberal arts university. With over 500 student-athletes in 24 varsity sports, the Generals have celebrated over 265 conference championships. Learn more about the Blue and White by visiting www.generalssports.com or on social media at @WLUGenerals.
