Blacksburg, Va. -
The No. 43 William and Mary women's tennis team used a
standout singles performance in tallying a 5-2 road victory at No. 46 Virginia
Tech on Friday afternoon. After dropping the doubles point and falling behind
2-0, W&M ran off the final five singles matches as freshman Jeltje Loomans
clinched the triumph with a win at the No. 3 post. The Green and Gold improved to 9-7 on the season,
while the setback snapped the Hokies' four-match winning streak in falling to
9-7.
Loomans and senior Lauren Sabacinski
gave the College the
early advantage in doubles play with their third straight win at the No. 3
position. The Tribe twosome bounced Shannon Betts and Isel Martinez-Marcos,
8-4, to improve to 4-1 on the season. The Hokies though won at the top two positions
to take the first point of the match.
After a Virginia Tech win at the No. 1 position extended the
lead to 2-0, the Green and Gold reeled off the final five singles victories.
Freshman Marivick Mamiit
and Sabacinski
tied the match at two
with straight set wins at the No. 5 and No. 6 posts. Mamiit won her fourth
straight in downing Betts, 7-5, 6-2 at the No. 5 slot. She won for the sixth
time in her last seven matches to improve to 9-6 on the season. Sabacinski
won for the fourth time in her six singles dual-matches this season as she
knocked off Martinez-Marcos, 7-5, 6-1, at the No. 6 position.
Sophomore Marlen Mesgarzadeh
won for the fourth straight time as she rallied for a three-set victory at
the No. 2 spot. After dropping the first
set, 6-2, to Martha Blakely, Mesgarzadeh fought back with 6-1, 6-2 victories in
the second and third sets. Blakely entered the match leading Virginia Tech with
21 singles wins and an impressive 8-3 mark at the No. 2 singles position. It
marked her seventh win of the season and her sixth in dual-match play.
For the second time this season, Loomans clinched a road
victory over a nationally ranked foe with a 7-6, 7-6 triumph over Tea Ivanovic
at the No. 3 singles position. The Tribe rookie, who also clinched the win at No.
48 Harvard on Feb. 26, won for the seventh time this season while improving to
3-2 at the No. 3 singles post.
Sophomore Anik Cepeda
rounded out the Tribe singles wins
with a three-set victory at the No. 4 position. Cepeda claimed the opening set
in a tiebreaker, before Virginia Tech's Holly Johnson won the second, 6-3. The
Tribe sophomore recorded her team-leading 19th singles win of the
season with a 7-5 win in the decisive third set. Cepeda improved to 8-4 at the
No. 4 singles slot and won her third straight match.
The Tribe will continue its two-match ACC road trip when it
travels to No. 47 Wake Forest on Saturday, March 19, at noon. The Green and
Gold will next be at home when it hosts No. 36 Brown on Sunday, March 27. The
contest is slated for a 11 a.m. start time at the Millie West
Tennis Facility.
#43 William and Mary 5, #46 Virginia Tech 2
Singles
No. 1 - Yasmin Hamza (VT) def. Hope Johnson
(W&M) - 6-3,
6-0
No. 2 - Marlen Mesgarzadeh
(W&M) def. Martha Blakely
(VT) - 2-6, 6-1, 6-2
No. 3 - Jeltje Loomans
(W&M) def. Tea Ivanovic (VT) - 7-6,
7-6
No. 4 - Anik Cepeda
(W&M) def. Holly Johnson (VT) - 7-6,
3-6, 7-5
No. 5 - Marivick Mamiit
(W&M) def. Shannon Betts (VT) - 7-5,
6-2
No. 6 - Lauren Sabacinski
(W&M) def. Isel
Martinez-Marcos (VT) - 7-5, 6-1
Finishing Order: 1, 6, 5, 2, 3*, 4
Doubles
No. 1 - Hamza/Johnson (VT) def. #50 Johnson/Cepeda (W&M)
- 8-3
No. 2 - Blakely/Rauscher (VT) def. Mesgarzadeh/Kargl
(W&M) - 8-2
No. 3 - Loomans/Sabacinski (W&M) def.
Betts/Martinez-Marcos (VT) - 8-4
Finishing Order: 3, 2, 1*
