Gainesville, Fla. (1/30/11) - The William and Mary women's tennis team split a pair of 4-3 matches at the ITA Kick-off Weekend at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex on the University of Florida campus. The Green and Gold fell in the opening round of the event to No. 66 Winthrop, 4-3, on Saturday, before recording a 4-3 triumph over No. 69 College of Charleston on Sunday. The Tribe moves to 2-2 on the season with the weekend split.

Against Winthrop, the Tribe claimed the doubles point by taking the top two pairs matches. Winthrop won the No. 3 doubles post to start things off, but the Tribe's No. 2 duo of sophomore Marlen Mesgarzadeh and senior Lauren Sabacinski disposed of Yasmine Alkema and Lisa Wilkinson, 8-3, to knot up the doubles competition. For the second time in as many matches, the No. 1 twosome of sophomore Anik Cepeda and freshman Hope Johnson clinched the initial point of the match. They rolled to their fourth straight win, 8-4, over Sandra Herrera and Giovanna Portiolli.

The Eagles won the top two singles matches to take a 2-1 lead, before freshman Marivick Mamiit won in straight sets, 7-6, 6-1, over Wilkinson at the No. 6 position to even things up. Mamiit recorded her first collegiate dual-match win and her third victory of the year.

The balance of the match came down to a trio of three-set affairs at the No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 spots. junior Katie Kargl notched a come-from-behind win at the No. 5 slot. After dropping the first set, 6-2, to Andressa Garcia, Kargl bounced back with 6-2, 6-1 wins in the second and third sets to claim the victory. Winthrop though would claim the team victory, 4-3, with three-set wins at the No. 3 and No. 4 spots.

On Sunday, College of Charleston took the initial point of the match with wins at the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles positions. The Tribe duo of junior Katie Kargl and freshman Jeltje Loomans defeated Caroline Newman and Katie Lee, 8-1, at the No. 3 position for their first win as a team.

After the Cougars lead increased to 2-0 with a win at the No. 1 singles post, the Tribe reeled off three straight singles wins to take a 3-2 advantage. Mesgarzadeh and Cepeda both win in straight sets at the No. 3 and No. 4 slot, respectively. Mesgarzadeh disposed of Kinsey Casey, 6-2, 6-0, for her second win of the season, while Cepeda recorded her team-best 11th singles win with a 6-1, 6-0 triumph over Caroline Newman.

Johnson rallied for a three-set win at the No. 2 singles position. After dropping the first set, 6-2, to Emma Hayman, the Tribe rookie won the final two sets, 6-0, 6-4, for her eighth win of the season.

Following College of Charleston's win at the No. 6 singles slot to tie the match at three, Kargl and the Cougars' Kelly Kambourelis took center stage with the outcome of the match in the balance. They split the opening two sets by 7-5 scores with Kargl taking the first and Kambourelis winning the second. Kargl notched her seventh win of the season and clinched the match for the Green and Gold with a 6-2 triumph in the decisive third set.

W&M returns to action on Friday, Feb. 4, when it hosts Richmond at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center. The match is slated for a 4 p.m. start.

#66 Winthrop 4, #57 William and Mary 3
Singles
No. 1 – Elizaveta Zaytesva (WIN) def. Nina Vulovich (W&M) – 6-0, 6-3
No. 2 – Yasmine Alkema (WIN) def. Hope Johnson (W&M) – 6-1, 6-2
No. 3 – Sandra Herrera (WIN) def. Marlen Mesgarzadeh (W&M) – 3-6, 7-6, 6-2
No. 4 – Giovanna Portiolli (WIN) def Anik Cepeda (W&M) – 3-6, 6-4, 7-5
No. 5 – Katie Kargl (W&M) def. Andressa Garcia (WIN) – 2-6, 6-2, 6-1
No. 6 – Marivick Mamiit (W&M) def. Lisa Wilkinson (WIN) – 7-6, 6-1
Finishing Order: 1, 2, 6, 3, 5, 4*

Doubles
No. 1 – Cepeda/Johnson (W&M) def. Herrera/Portiolli (WIN) – 8-4
No. 2 – Mesgarzadeh/Sabacinski (W&M) def. Alkema/Wilkinson (WIN) – 8-3
No. 3 – Zayteseva/Garcia (WIN) def. Kargl/Loomans (W&M) – 8-5
Finishing Order: 3, 2, 1*

#57 William & Mary 4, #69 College of Charleston, 3
Singles
1. Christin Newman (CofC) def. Nina Vulovich (W&M) - 6-0, 6-2
2. Hope Johnson (W&M) def. Emma Hayman (CofC) - 2-6, 6-0, 6-4
3. Marlen Mesgarzadeh (W&M) def. Kinsey Casey (CofC) - 6-2, 6-0
4. Anik Cepeda (W&M) def. Caroline Newman (CofC) - 6-1, 6-0
5. Katie Kargl (W&M) def. Kelly Kambourelis (CofC) - 7-5, 5-7, 6-2*
6. Katie Lee (CofC) def. Marivick Mamiit (W&M) - 6-3, 6-1
Finishing Order: 1, 3, 4, 2, 6, 5*

Doubles
No. 1 – Hayman/Viana (CofC) def. Cepeda/Johnson (W&M) – 8-6
No. 2 – Ch. Newman/Kambourelis (CofC) def. Sabacinski/Mesgarzadeh (W&M) – 8-6
No. 3 – Kargl/Loomans (W&M) def. Ca. Newman/Lee (CofC) - 8-1
Finishing Order: 3, 1, 2*