Saturday, April 13, William and Mary hosted No. 32 nationally-ranked Old Dominion (16-3) at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center. The Tribe entered the game with a 7-12 record, after falling to Liberty 4-2 roughly a week earlier. This match held special significance for the team, as it celebrated its three graduating seniors Deepa Dhore, Lauren Goodman and Clara Tanielian in their last regular match of the season before heading to the Colonial Athletic Association Championships.
In the doubles round at No. 2, Monarchs Yulia Starodubtseva and Oleksandra Andrieieva faced off against Tribe senior Lauren Goodman and junior Charlotte Madson. Here, the Monarchs came out on top, defeating the College 6-3. Next to finish was doubles matchup No. 3 between Tribe freshman Mila Saric and junior Rosie Cheng versus Monarchs Natalya Malenko and Nataliia Vlasova. The Tribe fared better in this match, and came out with a 6-4 win over the Monarchs. The last match to finish in the doubles round was at No. 1 spot, where Monarchs Brooke Pilkington and Holly Hutchinson played against Tribe sophomore Vitoria Okuyama and Tanielian. This match would decide which school would take the doubles round, and after a hard-fought game from both sides, the Monarchs bested Tribe 6-4.
As it entered the singles matches, the College trailed 1-0 against Old Dominion. At No. 1, Cheng faced off against Hutchinson. Hutchinson came out with a decisive victory in this match, winning her first two sets 6-2 and 6-3, respectively. Another win for the Monarchs came at No. 6, where Louie McLelland was able to defeat in the first set 6-1, and in the second set 6-3. At this point, the College was down 3-0 against Old Dominion, and desperately needed a win to keep alive its last hope of winning. Saric was able to deliver this tide-turning performance, beating Monarchs’ Oleksandra Andrieieva in two sets, both at 6-2.
At the No. 5 spot, Madson was the Tribe’s last hope of maintaining the possibility of a victory. The Tribe was down 3-1 with just three singles matches left; a loss would make it 4-1 and end the game by ensuring there was no chance of a Tribe win. Madson faced off against Brooke Pilkington, who was coming off a win in the doubles round at No. 1. Unfortunately for the Tribe, Pilkington won the first set 6-3, then the second set 6-2, winning No. 5 for ODU and making the score 4-1 in the Monarchs’ favor.
The singles match at No. 2 between Vlasova and Tanielian was cut short with the loss at No. 5, along with the singles matchup at No. 4 between Goodman and Monarchs’ Yulia Starodubtseva.
Overall, the Monarchs were able to emerge victorious over the Tribe 4-1, with one point from their 2-1 doubles wins and three singles wins. The Tribe’s sole point came from Saric’s win at singles No. 3.
“I was really happy with my energy level and focus throughout the whole match,” Saric said. “We are at the end of the season and our bodies feel it, so it was a confidence booster to get such a good win for myself.”
The College now owns a 7-13 record, and ODU emerges with a 16-3 record. The Tribe will travel to Elon, North Carolina to compete in the CAA Championships, the first round beginning April 17.