Saturday, April 5, William and Mary women’s tennis (13-3, 4-0 CAA) lost 5-2 to Richmond (10-6, 2-2 A-10) at Mackesy Tennis Center at the Millie West Courts in Williamsburg, Va.
While the Green and Gold cruised to a 6-1 victory over the Spiders in 2024, the story of this season’s showdown proved to be different. Saturday’s loss broke the home team’s seven-match winning streak, with the Green and Gold losing the doubles point 2-1 and dropping four of six singles matches.
Before play began, William and Mary held a ceremony to celebrate seniors Hedda Gurholt, Ine Stange, Alessandra Anghel and Emma Fernald, a class that proved instrumental in powering the team to three consecutive CAA Championships from 2022 to 2024.
The Spiders set the tone early in doubles play. Seeded No. 1, Gurholt and Stange fell to Richmond junior Lara Bakhaya and graduate student Andrea Campodonico.
On the second court, sophomore Francesca Davis and Anghel responded with a 6-3 win, marking the duo’s fifth consecutive doubles victory. Davis and Anghel now boast an impressive 14-2 record on the season, having fallen only to Temple (6-12, 0-0 AAC) during the dual season.
Seeded No. 3, Fernald and freshman Mira Kernagis fought tooth and nail against Spiders graduate student Claire Le Du and sophomore Lainey O’Neil. While Fernald and Kernagis claimed an early advantage, the Richmond duo managed to even the score at 6-6.
During an intense tiebreaker, Fernald and Kernagis surged ahead early, but Le Du and O’Neil found their rhythm and battled back. As the momentum shifted in the Spiders’ direction, the Tribe struggled to regain control. Despite mounting a comeback to level the score at 6-6, Fernald and Kernagis ultimately fell 7-6 (6), allowing the Spiders to clinch the doubles point.
Following the hotly-contested doubles matches, the singles portion of the day featured all four William and Mary seniors in action. Of these upperclassmen, Gurholt and Fernald were able to secure points for the Tribe.
At the No. 1 spot, Gurholt defeated freshman Sofia Barbulescu in straight sets by a score of 7-5, 6-4. The singles victory marked the 89th of her career, pushing her into the program’s all-time top 15 in that category.
On the sixth court, Fernald fought past freshman Abby Lee in three sets, taking the third set super tiebreaker by a score of 10-5. The win marked her seventh singles victory in a row.
However, the Spiders picked up wins in the other four games, securing the overall match victory. At No. 4, Davis fought a tough match against Le Du and went down 6-4, 6-1. A setback on the fifth court followed, as junior Elizabeth Novak claimed a 6-1, 6-3 victory against Kernagis.
At the No. 3 spot, Stange started strong, taking the opening set 6–3 against junior Lara Bakhaya. Bakhaya soon stormed back, dominating the next two sets 6–2, 6–1 to clinch the visitors’ third singles point. The Spiders extended their lead to 4–2 on the second court, where senior Alessandra Anghel rebounded from a 6–1 first-set loss to take the second set against Campodonico. However, she could not maintain her momentum, ultimately falling 6–3 in the deciding set.
Tribe women’s tennis will return to the courts Saturday, April 12, when it travels to Charlotte, N.C. for an away contest against No. 40 Charlotte (18-4, 4-1 AAC).
