Following a tough loss to Duke last weekend, no. 56 William and Mary (9-9) took to the court this Saturday and Sunday, seeking to erase memories of its previous outing. The Tribe began the healing process with two victories, a 6-1 dismantling of Boston University Saturday and a 5-2 defeat of Memphis Sunday at Busch Courts.
The College has now won four of its last five matches, with only four remaining in the regular season.
The Tribe began its weekend by beating the Terriers in the doubles portion of the match. Senior Carmen Pop and freshman Anik Cepeda recorded a 9-8 victory, while senior Lauren Sabacinski and sophomore Katie Kargl took home an 8-4 win. In addition to its doubles dominance, the Tribe swept all but one of the singles matches to claim the win.
“The BU match was a good match as far as taking care of business, being very competitive, having good energy, not taking anything for granted, and being ready to compete,” Head Coach Meredith Geiger-Walton said. “It was good to get a win to start some momentum behind us.”
Despite the victory, the Tribe suffered a substantial loss when Pop pulled her hamstring in the latter stages. Pop barely finished her match and was carried off the court with a full-body cramp.
Sunday’s play against Memphis began with a trio of hard-fought doubles matches. In the three spot, freshman Nina Vulovich and Sabacinski made quick work of their opponents, winning 8-4.
After witnessing Vulovich and Sabacinski’s victory, the duo of senior Ragini Acharya and sophomore Katie Kargl edged their Tiger counterparts 8-6 to clinch the doubles point.
In singles play, the Tribe dominated the lower spots with wins from Sabacinski, Kargl and Cepeda. Sabacinski, who was undefeated throughout the weekend, finished her match quickly for the second day in a row, improving her season record to 10-12.
“Lauren’s been doing a great job of really being able to start the match and finish the match with consistency,” Geiger-Walton said. “One thing she’s been wanting to improve in her game is to execute a plan and stick with it — and that’s something — she’s been able to do.”
Sabacinski agreed with her coach.
“You have to have a plan when you go, and I think that’s been my biggest strength because I get to go out and focus on one point at a time,” Sabacinski said.
Due in large part to its relatively easy victories, the Tribe was pleased with its weekend outing and hopes to maintain its positive momentum into next weekend’s home match against Marshall.
“It was a good, very solid match,” Geiger-Walton said. “I think everyone had good matches to where they felt they had accomplished some individual things out of it.”
