Saturday, Feb. 1, William and Mary women’s tennis (2-0, 0-0 CAA) defeated Norfolk State (0-1, 0-0 MEAC) 6-1 at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center in Williamsburg, Va.
The defending Coastal Athletic Association champions started the dual-match season with a dominant performance from top to bottom, dropping only one match out of the nine played.
The Tribe began the afternoon by winning the doubles point, defeating all of the Spartans’ top three pairings. William and Mary’s No. 3 team, composed of junior Yaelle Vaissaud and sophomore Parker Debnam, won a tiebreaker to clinch the doubles sweep and give the Tribe the initial point of the contest.
The Tribe then dominated the singles portion of the day, winning five out of six matches. Four of the victories came in straight sets. Senior and two-time defending CAA player of the year Hedda Gurholt won matches in both singles and doubles on the No. 1 court. Senior Ine Stange and sophomore Francesca Davis also won both of their matches. The Tribe remains historically undefeated against the Spartans, having won every contest of their annual matchup dating back to 2021.
The Tribe continued its strong start to the season Sunday, Feb. 2, defeating West Virginia (2-4, 0-0 Big 12) 5-2 at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center.
William and Mary grabbed the doubles point again, beginning the day by taking all three matchups. The Tribe allowed West Virginia to win only six games in total across the three doubles matches.
In the singles portion, Gurholt and Davis, on the No. 1 and 5 courts respectively, won their matches in straight sets, powering the Tribe to an impressive win over the Big 12 opponent.
The victory was significant as it marked the Tribe’s first win against a power conference opponent since 2020 and its first win against a Big 12 opponent since 2017. As the defending CAA champs feature multiple returning all-conference players, the Green and Gold expect this red-hot start to continue. Tribe women’s tennis will see action next Wednesday, Feb. 5 against Longwood (1-2, 0-0 Big South) at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center in Williamsburg, Va.