What a difference a month makes.
On March 19, William and Mary was dominated by Wake Forest in
Winston-Salem, N.C., dropping the Tribe’s record to 9-8. The College
had lost four of its last seven, and was struggling to find its pace.
Fast forward four weeks to Friday. The College entered its regular
season finale against conference rival Old Dominion riding a
three-match winning streak and a wave of momentum. After another
dominant performance, the Tribe downed the Monarchs, 4-2 to finish the
regular season with a 13-8 record and the No. 1 seed in this week’s
CAA Championships.
“I was pleased with the attitude the energy and the mentality of the
players today,” head coach Meredith Geiger-Walton said. “They knew
they were going to win but they still have to work at it.”
The match started off well for the College, as the squad overwhelmed
the Monarchs in the doubles portion of the match. The No. 33 doubles
tandem of sophomore Anik Cepeda and freshman Hope Johnson easily
dispatched ODU’s Joanna Dobrowolska and Melissa Esnal Olguin, 8-2 at
the No. 1 spot.
Freshman Jeltje Loomans and senior Lauren Sabacinski clinched the
doubles point with an 8-3 victory over ODU’s Juliana Pires and Diana
Ivanova at the No. 3 post. Sabacinski, the hero of the College’s
dramatic 4-3 victory over Virginia Commonwealth last week, was the
lone senior honored during the match after she notched her 80th career
doubles victory.
As a result, the Tribe entered the singles portion of the match
holding a 1-0 lead, but the squad still needed several clutch
performances to end the regular season victoriously.
Cepeda started things off for the College by putting together another
dominating performance. She overwhelmed Juliana Pires, 6-1, 6-1 at the
No. 4 position. With the victory, she recorded a team-best 23-13
ledger on the season by recording her 15th dual-match victory.
Minutes later, sophomore Marlen Mesgarzadeh provided another College
victory. The sophomore overpowered Ivanova, 6-3, 6-0, at the No. 2
spot to provide a 3-0 cushion for the Tribe. Mesgardzadeh finished
11-9 on the year, including an impressive 6-1 at the No. 2 position.
“I think I played pretty well,” Mesgarzadeh said. “It was very
important going into CAA’s having that last win on senior day … It’s
definitely going to be a good position to be No. 1 going into the
CAA’s.”
Although Esnal Olguin defeated sophomore Nina Vulovich in a
hard-fought 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 match at the No. 3 spot, freshman Marivick
Mamiit ultimately clinched the match for the College at the No. 5
position. Mamiit’s 6-3, 6-0, straight-set victory over Old Dominion’s
Margarita Belyakova was her first ever clinching victory. She finished
the regular season with a 10-8 record, including a 3-1 mark at the No.
5 spot.
“It was a ‘take care of business’ type of mentality today,” Walton
said. “It was good just another match under our belt and good momentum
going into the CAA’s. The important thing is we’re peaking at the
right time right now so we’re going into the CAA’s with good momentum
and energy and confidence.”
The College will begin its conference-tournament play against the
winner of Drexel’s first-round matchup with Towson.
