Williamsburg - The No. 62-ranked William and Mary women's tennis team
defeated instate foe Richmond, 6-1, on Friday evening inside the friendly
confines of the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center. The Tribe improves to 3-2 on
the season in winning its second straight, while the Spider dropped its third
straight road tilt to open the season.
The Tribe struck first in doubles action when senior Lauren
Sabacinski and sophomore Marlen Mesgarzadeh upended the Spider tandem of Kelly
Tidwell and Elizabeth Sims, 8-3, at the No. 3 slot. The Green and Gold duo,
which earned All-CAA honors in doubles last season, improved to 2-1 on the
season with the victory. The College went on to sweep the doubles matches.
At the No. 1 position, the strong Tribe twosome of sophomore
Anik Cepada and freshman Hope Johnson outlasted Richmond's Helen Cunningham and
Alexandra Smyth, 8-5. Cepeda and Johnson improved to 5-2 overall and 4-1 in
dual-match play. The Tribe pair of freshman Jeltje Loomans and junior Katie
Kargl wrapped up the sweep and upped its ledger to 2-1 with an 8-5 victory over
Richmond's Sydney Grant and Joanna Matuszcyk at the No. 2 spot.
Singles play was highlighted by Johnson's dominated
performance over the Spiders Helen Cunningham at the top singles position. The
Welwyn Garden City, United Kingdom, native took control early and cruised to a
6-0, 6-2 victory for her ninth singles win of the season and first at the top
singles position.
Kargl continued her strong play as she turned in an
impressive performance at the No. 4 spot. The Tribe junior stormed to a 6-0,
6-1 victory over Grant for her fourth straight victory. She owns eight singles
wins on the season and improved to 4-1 in dual-match competition.
Cepeda clinched the Tribe win with her team-leading 12th
singles win of the season. Playing at the No. 3 slot for the first time this
season, the Tribe sophomore turned in a stout performance, downing Tidwell, 6-1,
6-2.
Freshman Marivick Mamiit and Mesgarzadeh rounded out the
Tribe victory with triumphs at the No. 5 and No. 2 singles posts, respectively.
Mamiit won for the fourth time this season and the second in dual-match play
with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Sims. Mesgarzadeh needed three sets in records her
third singles win of the year, downing Matuszcyk, 6-2, 5-7, 10-3.
Up next, the Tribe will face a pair of Big Ten opponents in Penn
State and No. 32 Ohio State on Feb. 12-13 in Columbus, Ohio. The match against Penn State is slated for a
4 p.m. start on Saturday, Feb. 12, while the contest vs. the host Buckeyes is
scheduled to start at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Feb 13.
#62 William and Mary 6,
Richmond 1
Singles
No. 1 - Hope Johnson (W&M) def. Helen Cunningham (UR) -
6-0, 6-2
No. 2 - Marlen Mesgarzadeh (W&M) def. Joanna Matuszcyk
(UR) - 6-2. 5-7, 10-3
No. 3 - Anik Cepeda
(W&M) def. Kelly Tidwell (UR) - 6-1, 6-2
No. 4 - Katie Kargl
(W&M) def. Sydney Grant (UR) - 6-0, 6-1
No. 5 - Marivick Mamiit
(W&M) def. Elizabeth Sims (UR) - 6-2, 6-1
No. 6 - Alexandra Smyth
(UR) def. Sydney Smith (W&M) - 6-3, 6-2
Finishing Order: 4, 1, 3*, 5, 6, 2
Doubles
No. 1 - Cepeda/Johnson
(W&M) def. Cunningham/Smyth (UR) - 8-5
No. 2 - Loomans/Kargl
(W&M) def. Grant/Matuszcyk (UR) - 8-5
No. 3 - Mesgarzadeh/Sabacinski
(W&M) def. Sims/Tidwell (UR) - 8-5
Finishing Order: 3, 1*, 2
