Sunday, William and Mary hosted in-state foe Virginia Commonwealth at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center for the conclusion of its regular season. The Tribe (14-9) blew the Rams (13-5) out of the water in a 7-0 conquest.
Setting the tone of the evening, junior Clara Tanielian and senior Cecily Wuenscher clinched the first win of the afternoon at the No. 3 spot with a score of 6-1.
Junior Lauren Goodman and sophomore Natalia Perry followed shortly with a victory of their own at the No. 1 spot with a score of 6-2, claiming the doubles point for the Tribe.
The match at the No. 2 spot was abandoned with eight sets completed divided evenly between the two teams, consisting of Tribe duo sophomore Rosie Cheng and senior Olivia Thaler.
The Tribe continued to dominate in singles play. All matches, apart from that at the No. 4 spot, were claimed by the College in two sets.
Thaler, at the No. 6 spot, added another win to her season, marking her 24th singles win of the year with identical scores of 6-1.
Meanwhile, at the No. 1 spot, Cheng also made short work of her opponent with scores of 6-1 and 6-2, increasing the Tribe’s overall lead to 3-0.
Mirroring her performance in doubles, Perry solidified the victory for the College as she posted her second victory of the evening at the No. 3 spot 6-1, 6-3.
Tanielian claimed the victory at the No. 2 spot with two straight 6-4 set wins. Senior Ekaterina Stepanova held steady at the No. 5 spot, defeating her opponent 6-4, 6-3.
Goodman’s match at the No. 4 spot went to three sets to finish out the afternoon, as she won the first set 6-3 before losing the second 7-5. Goodman would pull out the victory, winning 10-8 in the super-tiebreaker.
Looking ahead, the Tribe will travel to Elon, North Carolina to compete in the Colonial Athletic Association Championship April 19-22. Due to its regular season record, the Tribe is likely to be seeded in the top position as it enters the tournament, which will warrant opening play in the quarterfinals April 20. The official seeding for the tournament will be released early next week.
