The Valparaiso University men’s tennis team got off to what head coach Jim Daugherty called its best start to a match this season on Sunday afternoon against William & Mary, but the Crusaders couldn’t close it out as the Tribe won on five of the six singles courts to nail down a 5-2 victory.

How It Happened

• The No. 1 doubles tandem of Kweisi Kenyatte (Detroit, Mich. / East English Village Preparatory) and Garrett Gardner (Poland, Ohio / Poland) knocked off Alec Miller and Louis Newman 6-4.
• Valpo dominated the No. 2 doubles match, with Chad Kissell (Latrobe, Pa. / Greater Latrobe) and Brandon Ancona (Belvidere, Ill. / Rockford Christian) joining forces for a 6-1 win over Christian Cargill and Michael Chen.
• With the doubles point already decided, the No. 3 match went unfinished with Brian Pecyna (Glen Ellyn, Ill. / Homeschooled) and Franklin Brozovich (Fort Gratiot, Mich. / Port Huron Northern) up 5-4.
• For the second straight day, the only Crusader to win in singles was Kenyatte, who downed Lars de Boer 6-3, 6-3 at No. 3.
• After losing the first set to Miller 6-3 at No. 1, Kissell rebounded to take the second 7-5, but ultimately lost the third 6-3.
• The other Crusader to win a set was Daniel Langston (Ponca City, Okla. / Ponca City) at No. 6. He grabbed the opener 7-6(6), but Sebastian Quiros won the remaining sets.
• Gardner and Pecyna also lost at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively.

Inside the Match

• Gardner upped his career doubles win total to 63, moving him into a tie for fifth in program history with Nick Vuko (1998-2002).
• Kenyatte continued to extend his team lead in singles wins, picking up his 14^th of the year.
• This marked the first time this season the Crusaders did not go on to win a match after winning the doubles point. The last time that occurred was April 2, 2017 vs. South Alabama.

Up Next

The Crusaders will play their final match before the annual spring trip on Friday at 2 p.m. against Western Michigan. The match will take place at Match Point Tennis Club in Griffith.