Saturday, April 12, William and Mary women’s tennis (13-4, 4-0 CAA) fell to No. 47 Charlotte (21-4, 4-1 AAC) 4-3 at the Halton-Wagner Tennis Complex in Charlotte, N.C. The loss, which comes after an April 5 defeat against Richmond (12-6, 4-2 A10), marks the Tribe’s second in a row. The Green and Gold went undefeated in March courtesy of a seven-game winning streak but has now dropped consecutive dual matches for the first time since Feb. 23, 2024.
The doubles portion of the afternoon saw the Tribe fall into an early hole after it suffered losses on the second and third courts.
“Obviously, we were not able to get the doubles point, which I think would really have helped us with the momentum to begin with,” William and Mary women’s tennis head coach Jessica Giuggioli said.
On the No. 2 court, Charlotte sophomore Shona Nakano and freshman Ni Xi dealt William and Mary senior Alessandra Anghel and sophomore Francesca Davis a 6-0 loss that broke the duo’s five-match doubles winning streak. This shutout, the first Anghel and Davis have suffered this year, dropped the pair to 12-2 on the dual season.
“Francesca and Alex have been playing great doubles,” Giuggioli said. “If you look at the record for the year, they’ve been doing great. I think they had to face an opponent that played very, very differently from a technical standpoint, and we just didn’t adapt. We had to obviously make some changes to what we normally do, and sometimes with doubles, because it’s just one set, things go by very quickly. We did not make the necessary changes quick enough. And that obviously cost us the No. 2 doubles, and that obviously puts a lot of pressure on the other two [pairs].”
The 49ers proceeded to take the doubles point after Charlotte freshman Yelyzaveta Chainykova and sophomore Sara Suchankova beat William and Mary senior Emma Fernald and junior Emma Pell 6-4 on the No. 3 court. On the first court, the match between William and Mary seniors Hedda Gurholt and Ine Stange and Charlotte freshman Prisca Abbas and junior Lucia Aranda was left unfinished with the score even at 5-5.
With Charlotte leading 1-0, the contest shifted into its singles portion, during which the hosts cemented their team victory with three consecutive straight-set wins.
“In singles, we actually went down 4-1 and then were able to get it closer to 4-3, but I think one of the things we talked about was the fact that on some courts, we just went down too fast,” Giuggioli said. “I think in order for us to really be able to compete and stay there with them, we really needed to be able to show up on every single court.”
On the fifth court, Abbas beat Davis 6-1, 6-0, marking the latter’s most lopsided loss of the season. On the third court, Aranda defeated William and Mary junior Sia Chaudry 6-3, 6-0, and Charlotte sophomore Paula Dougherty beat William and Mary freshman Mira Kernagis 6-2, 6-2 on the sixth court.
One of the Tribe’s lone bright spots came on court No. 1, where Gurholt overwhelmed Suchankova 6-1 in the first set of their match. Suchankova made the second set more competitive, but Gurholt triumphed 6-1, 7-6 (6) in a nail-biting tiebreaker.
The win marked Gurholt’s 90th career singles victory, making her one of just 14 players in program history to cross that threshold. Giuggioli spoke highly of the leadership and competitive nature of Gurholt, the two-time reigning Coastal Athletic Association Player of the Year.
“I think throughout her collegiate career, Hedda [Gurholt] has made a huge impact on this team,” Giuggioli said. “From her freshman year, she was rookie of the year, she’s been player of the year every single year and she’s just such a great competitor. She’s just the kind of player that you can count on, and it’s been great having her.”
With the match already decided in favor of the 49ers, Anghel and Stange won three-set tiebreakers on the second and fourth courts, respectively. Anghel beat Xi 5-7, 6-2, 10-5, while Stange beat Nakano 4-6, 6-2, 11-9.
Although the series between the Tribe and the 49ers doesn’t date back very far — the programs first met in 2022 — Charlotte has proven itself to be a formidable adversary, now boasting a 4-0 all-time record against William and Mary.
William and Mary will conclude the regular season Saturday, April 19, when it takes on Elon (16-5, 2-0 CAA) at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center in Elon, N.C. The Tribe’s losing streak now stands at two matches, but Giuggioli believes that her team will be encouraged by the adversity it is facing.
“If anything, it’s just going to make us more hungry to win again,” Giuggioli said. “I don’t think anybody on the team likes losing, so I think if anything, it’s made us more motivated to work hard this week and really get ready for Elon this weekend.”
In Giuggioli’s estimation, the Phoenix will present an energetic, loud test to the Tribe’s composure.
“We actually got to see them in the fall, as well, and they are a team with a lot of energy, in terms of what to expect from them,” Giuggioli said. “We know they’re going to be loud. They know they want this really bad, and we just have to go out there and make sure that we compete to our standard, and we show up on every single court, and we stay focused on what our goals are and what our plans are.
According to Giuggioli, William and Mary has a “very, very good chance” at clinching the CAA Tournament’s top seed if it beats Elon, although the coach admits the Tribe won’t know anything for certain until the final seedings come out Monday, April 21.
