Friday, March 28, William and Mary women’s tennis (13-2, 4-0 CAA) defeated Virginia Commonwealth (7-8, 1-1 A10) 6-1 at Mackesy Tennis Center at the Millie West Courts in Williamsburg, Va. The victory extended the Tribe’s winning streak to seven. Head coach Jessica Giuggioli’s squad has gone undefeated since it fell to Wake Forest (13-8, 3-5 ACC) Feb. 23.
The Green and Gold now sports a 44-14 all-time record against VCU and is 24-4 against the Rams at home, marks inflated by a 27-match winning streak William and Mary rattled off from 1970 to 2000. The series has become more competitive in recent years, but the Tribe has nevertheless won six of the programs’ last nine meetings.
The doubles portion of the afternoon began on court two, where senior Alessandra Anghel and sophomore Francesca Davis scored an authoritative 6-2 victory over VCU freshmen Sofia Jane Thorne and Lea Malazdra. Anghel and Davis have now won 13 of their 15 doubles matches on the season, nine of their last ten and four in a row.
The Rams responded with a win on the first court, taking down William and Mary seniors Hedda Gurholt and Ine Stange 6-3, but freshman Mira Kernagis and senior Emma Fernald authored a thrilling comeback victory on the third court. Down 5-1 during the first-to-seven tiebreaker, the pair won seven of the match’s final eight points to defeat VCU senior Yelizaveta Karlova and freshman Andrea Magallanes 7-6 (6).
Kernagis and Fernald, named last week’s Coastal Athletic Association Doubles Team of the Week following wins over Fordham and Charleston, continued their run of hot play, winning their sixth consecutive match and improving to 12-6 on the season. The pair trails Anghel and Davis for the team lead in doubles victories by just one.
With the doubles point clinched, the Tribe moved on to the singles portion of the dual, dispatching the Rams dominantly. VCU picked up a win on the first court when Gurholt retired after going down 6-1, 2-2. However, William and Mary would go on to take each of the remaining matchups in straight sets.
On the second court, Anghel cruised by VCU sophomore Mariam Ibrahim 6-3, 6-0. On the fifth court, Kernagis again knocked off Karlova 6-3, 6-4. On court four, Davis again defeated Malazdra 7-5, 6-1, a win that secured the Tribe’s overall team victory. Fernald and Stange wrapped up the day’s slate, taking down Magallanes and VCU freshman Sara Alba on the sixth and third courts, respectively.
With her victory, Davis improved to a team-best 22-6 in singles, with almost all of her dual wins coming on the fifth court. Anghel pushed her record to 20-8 on the year and 12-3 on the second court. Kernagis, who typically plays at number six, won only her second career game on the fifth court, while Fernald improved to 10-2 overall and 4-0 on the sixth court.
Stange now sits at 17-10. Gurholt, the two-time defending Coastal Athletic Association Player of the Year, sits at 16-13, with all of her games having come on the first court.
The Tribe will host its final home match Saturday, April 5, against Richmond (8-6, 2-2 CAA) at Mackesy Tennis Center at the Millie West Courts in Williamsburg, Va.
