LEXINGTON, Va. – Sophomore
Sanjheev Rao won the sixth and final singles match of the day to secure a 4-3 win for the No. 27 Washington and Lee men's tennis team over 29th-ranked Christopher Newport on Friday evening.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
With the Generals (4-0) trailing, 3-2, sophomore
Heys Parker tied the team score at three with a 6-2, 7-6 (7) victory over Eddy Porsmyr Hansen at No. 5. That left Rao and opponent Gabe Smith at No. 6 to decide the match, with the two heading to a third set after Rao took the first set, 6-2, and Smith claimed the second, 6-1.
Rao led by a 5-3 score in the final set, but Smith won a pair of deuce points in back-to-back games to tie the set score at five. After both players held serve, Rao dominated in the tiebreak, 7-2, to send the Generals to their fourth win of the season.
All three doubles matches finished at 6-4, but W&L secured the point heading to singles play. Parker and senior
Eli Hirshberg won at No. 2, before seniors
Evan Erb and
Will Kistler were victorious at No. 1. Erb then opened singles play with a comfortable 6-1, 6-3 win over Vincent Truong at the top position to give W&L a 2-0 lead.
The Captains (4-1) battled back, however, and won each of the next three team points to move ahead, 3-2. Their wins came from Ashton Legum at No. 4 (6-2, 7-6 (7)), Ryan Monroe at No. 2 (3-6, 6-3, 6-4) and Nesh Kumaresan at No. 3 (7-5, 4-6, 6-4).
UP NEXT:
The Generals will get back on the courts on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. when they host No. 10 Sewanee in a rematch of the team's 2024 NCAA Tournament Round of 32 contest.
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.
