Women’s tennis takes home 28th CAA title

COURTESY IMAGE // TRIBE ATHLETICS William and Mary celebrates their 28th CAA championship after their dominate performance in the CAA tournament.

Friday, April 21 – Sunday, April 23, William and Mary women’s tennis (15-5, 5-0 CAA) won the Colonial Athletic Association Championship at the Mackesy Tennis Center in Williamsburg, VA.

The Tribe started the tournament with a dominant performance against North Carolina Agricultural and Technical, sweeping its opponent 4-0. Key contributors to the win included graduate student Sofiya Kuzina, sophomore Emma Fernald and freshman Emma Pell, all of whom won their singles matches.

The Tribe swept the doubles matches after a strong performance from Fernald and senior Elisa Van Meeteren in their 6-0 win. The Tribe’s No. 3 doubles team of Pell and sophomore Hedda Gurholt swept their match 6-0, beating the Bulldog’s pair of freshman Nour Gueblaoui and freshman Asima Sazan. 

In the No. 3 singles match, Kuzina made quick work of the Bulldog’s freshman Nuria Sanz. Kuzina dominated the first set 6-1, then finished off the match after winning the second set 6-4. This victory marks Kuzina’s first win of the postseason. 

In the No. 4 match, Fernald faced freshman Isabella Romanichen. After a dominant 6-0 victory in the first set, Fernald secured her win with 6-4 victory in the second set. 

Pell also contributed to the Tribe’s success with a 6-1, 6-2 victory in her match against Sazan. 

The points from both the singles and doubles victories contributed to a 4-0 victory for the Tribe, which qualified the team for the semifinals against No.4 Elon (16-7) the following day. This advancement marks the Tribe’s 10th year straight advancing to the CAA semifinals. 

On Saturday, William and Mary edged out Elon by a nail-biting score of 4-3. 

Unlike the round before, the Tribe struggled in the doubles matches. Elon won two of the three matches and were ahead in the third when the overall match ended.

Elon’s No. 1 doubles pair, junior Lizette Reding and senior Sibel Tanik, won 6-2 against Tribe pair Kuzina and sophomore Ine Stange. The Tribe’s No. 2 doubles pair, Fernald and Van Meeteren, lost 5-3 to Elon’s senior Julie Ball and freshman Madison Cordisco. This loss marks the duo’s second shortcoming against the Elon pair this season, going back to their 6-1 loss in the previous matchup. 

While the doubles matches favored Elon, the Tribe’s singles players dominated their matches. Victories from No. 1 Gurholt, No. 3 Kuzina, No. 4 Fernald and No. 6 Pell secured the semifinal victory for the Tribe. 

This victory sent the Tribe to its second straight championship matchup, following its victory in their 2021-22 season. 

On Sunday, the Tribe prepared for the chance to win back-to-back CAA Championships. Its opponent, North Carolina Wilmington (13-9), dominated Drexel in a 4-0 victory in their semifinal match to qualify for the finals. 

In the doubles matchups, the Tribe’s No. 1 pair of Kuzina and Stange faced UNCW’s top duo: freshman Eda Arli and graduate student Lauren Gish. The match was a close contest, but Arli and Gish pulled away with a 6-4 victory over the Tribe. The Tribe’s No. 2 pair of Fernald and Van Meeteren won 6-4 in a competitive match against UNCW’s senior Anna Daniels and senior Zoe Huffman. The third and final doubles match played by Gurholt and Pell marked another victory for the Tribe.

In the singles performances of Gurholt, Kuzina and Stange all secured wins for the Tribe. The three other singles matches went unfinished.

This victory marks the Tribe’s 28th CAA title in the conference’s 38 year existence. 

The Tribe will continue its postseason at the NCAA Championship Tournament.

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