Women’s Tennis: Day three of the William and Mary Invitational
The College of William and Mary wrapped up its third and final day of competition at the William and Mary Invitational in style, posting a 5-1 record Sunday.
Senior Katarina Zoricic led the Tribe tennis squad on the day, recording a third place finish in the top doubles bracket with partner junior Ragini Acharya, before locking up a third place singles finish four hours later.
Zoricic’s singles match went the distance as she rallied after dropping the first set 7-6. Zoricic won the next set 6-2 and took the tiebreaker 10-7. Her Boston College opponent Lana Krasnopolsky decided to concede the second set after falling behind 3-2; she wanted to finish the match before the Eagles had to catch a flight in Newport News.
“The match was very interesting,” Zoricic said of the events. “I wasn’t sure if it was a tennis match or a broadway musical.”
Zoricic turned the odd moment into momentum as the senior used her quick footwork to position herself to hit forehand winners.
“She was very mentally strong,” Head Coach Meredith Geiger-Walton said. “Despite losing the first set in a close [tie] breaker, she refused to lose the match.”
In doubles, Zoricic felt that she and Acharya were progressing well despite seldom playing together before this year. Both competitors have the same style – neither plays at the net – but Zoricic said that she would most likely take over those duties.
In other action, freshman Katie Kargl burst onto the scene for the College in her first collegiate tennis action, going 3-1 in singles play and 4-0 in doubles to win the flight B doubles bracket with partner, junior Carmen Pop.
“[Carmen and Katie] played great, full of energy, very aggressive,” Geiger-Walton said. “They definitely played doubles the way doubles needs to be played which is mainly at net.”
The College’s other freshman, Maria Morrissey, posted impressive numbers for the Tribe as well going 2-1 in singles play while reaching the flight E finals.
“It was a good time to see where everyone was at, to gauge what we need to work on and what things we need to focus on for the rest of the fall,” Geiger-Walton said.
Day two of the William and Mary Invitational
Doubles:
The College of William and Mary had a rough day in doubles with two of the Tribe’s three duos falling. The lone victory for the College came from junior Carmen Pop and freshman Katie Kargl, who compete for the flight B doubles crown Sunday morning after an 8-3 win Saturday.
The no. 20 team of senior Katarina Zoricic and junior Ragini Acharya dropped its flight A match 9-8 (5) in a tiebreaker, so did the College’s other flight A doubles tandem of junior Lauren Sabacinski and senior Klaudyna Kasztelaniec.
Singles:
No. 87 Acharya faced a daunting task as she took the court in singles against no. 1 Aurelija Miseviciute of Arkansas Saturday. For much of the first set the task seemed too much for the junior as she fell 6-1, but in the second set, Acharya found her groove and broke Miseviciute twice before falling 6-4.
“Ragini has the ability to dictate and step up and take control,” Head Coach Meredith Geiger-Walton said. “The more she gets comfortable doing that and recognizing that, [beating top ranked opponents] will start happening.”
The College’s other ranked singles competitor, no. 94 Zoricic cruised to an early 6-1, 6-4 victory before falling to no. 84 Beier Ko of Harvard 6-2, 6-2. Zoricic struggled finding the court on her backhand, hitting nearly all of her winners with her powerful forehand.
Freshman Maria Morressey won her match in flight E and will compete in the final Sunday.
“For first tournament of the year, it has been a good chance to see where everyone is at right now, see the areas we are going to strengthen, see the areas where we are going to work on for the fall so that we going into the spring fresh, strong and really ready to compete at our best,” Geiger-Walton said.
Women’s Tennis: Day one of the William and Mary Invitational
Doubles:
The Tribe went a combined 5-1 in doubles on the day. The College’s top pairing of senior Katarina Zoricic and junior Ragini Acharya – no. 20 in the ITA preseason doubles rankings – tallied 8-2 and 8-6 victories, while the team of senior Klaudyna Kasztelaniec and junior Lauren Sabacinski dropped their opening match 8-6 before rebounding with convincing 8-2 victory in the consolation round.
In the women’s flight B bracket the tandem of junior Carmen Pop and freshman Katie Kargl disposed of their competition 8-5 and 8-2.
Singles:
The Tribe’s ranked singles players, no. 94 Zoricic and no. 87 Acharya, both rolled to easy victories. Zoricic won 6-3, 6-1, and Acharya 6-3, 6-3
“Ragini is a very solid player,” Head Coach Meredith Geiger-Walton said “She establishes control of the point very early on. Her strength is in her accuracy. There is no doubt that Ragini is going to be one of the top competitors in the country.”
Geiger-Walton also highlighted the play of Zoriric, noting her strong serve and powerful inside-out forehand pattern.
Tribe true freshman Maria Morrissey started her collegiate career by posting a 6-3, 6-1 win. Juniors Pop and Sabacinski both fell in their opening singles matches of the season.
