DRIVE FOR THREE FALLS SHORT; W&L CLAIMS 13TH STRAIGHT CROWN

LEXINGTON, VA (April 21, 2008)–All season, head tennis coach Murrie Bates and his Tiger squad have hung their hats on one philosophy: play hard and never take a point off.

Hampden-Sydney played that way all season, especially in its thrilling semifinal win over Roanoke College just two days ago, pulling out a gritty victory without the golden racket of sophomore sensation and leader Will Moss (Fredericksburg, VA/Fredericksburg). The philosophy carried the Tigers to a 14-2 overall record, a No. 14 ranking in the latest ITA Atlantic South Region Rankings and a date with traditional ODAC tennis powerhouse Washington and Lee University on the Generals home court for a chance at the program's third conference title.

Despite staying true to that philosophy, the dream fell just short.

Washington and Lee claimed its 13th consecutive ODAC championship, 28th overall, and earned the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament with a 9-0 victory over a scrappy Hampden-Sydney squad on Sunday afternoon. The national No. 16 ranked and top-seeded Generals took full advantage of Moss' absence in a match that hardly resembled its predecessor, a tough 6-3 Generals triumph during the regular season. Although an ODAC title was not to be on this afternoon, the Tigers made plenty of noise in the conference and region of the course of the spring, finishing the season with an outstanding 14-3 overall record.

Washington and Lee (17-4) dropped just one game during the doubles portion of the match, taking a 3-0 lead into singles competition. In singles, Tigers' freshman Rich Pugh (Augusta, GA/Lakeside) put up a fight, but could not break through and fell 6-1, 6-1 at No. 1 singles.  Hampden-Sydney battled hard, dropping No. 2 singles 6-3, 6-2 and No. 4 singles 6-3, 6-4, but the experience and talent of the Generals squad was too much, as Washington and Lee closed the championship run without dropping a single match in the tournament (27-0).

Singles
1. Nat Estes (W&L) def. Rich Pugh (HSC): 6-1, 6-1
2. Tim Ross (W&L) def. Shad Harrell (HSC): 6-3, 6-2
3. Brent Meyers (W&L) def. Zack Pack (HSC): 6-0, 6-0
4. Jamie McCardell (W&L) def. Tal Covington (HSC): 6-3, 6-4
5. Stuart Sanford (W&L) def. Andrew McLeod (HSC): 6-0, 6-0
6. Morgan Hopson (W&L) def. Kenneth Holzapfel (HSC): 6-2, 6-3

Doubles
1. T. Ross/J. McCardell (W&L) def. R. Pugh/K. Holzapfel (HSC): 8-0
2. N. Estes/M. Hopson (W&L) def. S. Harrell/Z. Pack (HSC): 8-1
3. S. Sanford/A. Brooke (W&L) def. T. Covington/A. McLeod (HSC): 8-0
 

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