Richmond, Va. - A come-from-behind three-set win by senior Lauren Sabacinski capped the No. 49-ranked William and Mary women's tennis team's 4-3 upset of CAA rival and No. 31-ranked VCU on Friday night. The College continued its stellar play, winning for the fifth time in its last six matches to gain the inside track on the No. 1 seed in next week's Colonial Athletic Association Championship. The Green and Gold, which snapped a four-match losing streak to VCU, improved to 12-8 overall, including a 1-0 CAA ledger, and handed the Rams their first home (12-1) and conference (3-1) losses of the season as VCU fell to 18-4.

For the fourth straight match the Tribe took the early advantage by claiming the doubles point. Sabacinski and freshman Jeltje Loomans continued to dominate with a convincing 8-2 win over Daria Yakavleva and Manuela Pietzuch at the No. 3 post. It marked the Tribe tandem's seventh straight victory as they improved to 8-1 on the year. Junior Katie Kargl and sophomore Marlen Mesgarzadeh clinched the initial point of the match with an 8-5 triumph over Ana Bara and Josefin Hjertquist at the No. 2 slot. The Tribe twosome won its second straight and fifth overall.

Mesgarzadeh and sophomore Anik Cepeda continued their strong play in singles competition as each won for seventh time in the last eight matches. The Tribe sophomores quickly push the Tribe advantage to 3-0 with straight set wins at the No. 2 and No. 4 singles spots. Mesgarzadeh downed Kateryna Yergina, 6-2, 6-3, to improve to an impressive 5-1 at the No. 2 singles position. It marked Mesgarzadeh's third straight win and her 10th victory of the season.

Cepeda also won her third straight with a 6-3, 6-3 triumph over Ana Bara. The College Station, Texas native won her team-leading 22nd match of the season and her 11th at the No. 4 singles post. She improved to a team-best 13-7 in dual-match competition.

The defending CAA Champion Rams would not go quietly and won a pair of straight-set matches at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions. VCU used a three-set win at the No. 6 post to even things at three with the No. 5 slot heading to a third set.

Sabacinski found herself in an early hole, dropping the first set, 6-3, to Yakavleva at the No. 5 position. The Tribe senior sent the contest to a decisive third set with a tiebreaker win, 7-6, in the second set. Sabacinski turned up the pressure in the third set on the way to a 6-2 win, clinching the Green and Gold team triumph. She won for the second time in as many matches at the No. 5 post, while improving to 6-3 on the season with the 69th singles win of her career.

W&M closes out the regular season at home against Old Dominion on Friday, April 15. It will mark Senior Night as the Tribe honors its lone senior, Lauren Sabacinski , who will play in her the final regular season home match. The Tribe men's team will also face off with Old Dominion as the College plays both matches concurrently. The contests are slated for a 6:30 p.m. start times at the Millie West Tennis Facility.

#49 William and Mary 4, #31 VCU 3
Singles
No. 1 - Alex Bara (VCU) def. Hope Johnson (W&M) - 7-5, 7-6
No. 2 - Marlen Mesgarzadeh (W&M) def. Kateryna Yergina (VCU) - 6-2, 6-3
No. 3 - Josefin Hjertquist (VCU) def. Jeltje Loomans (W&M) - 6-3, 6-4
No. 4 - Anik Cepeda (W&M) def. Ana Bara (VCU) - 6-3, 6-3
No. 5 - Lauren Sabacinski (W&M) def. Daria Yakavleva (VCU) - 3-6, 7-6, 6-2
No. 6 - Olga Terteac (VCU) def. Katie Kargl (W&M) - 6-2, 4-6, 6-3

Doubles
No. 1 - #50 Alex Bara/Yergina (VCU) def. #33 Johnson/Cepeda (W&M) - 9-8
No. 2 - Kargl/Mesgarzadeh (W&M) def. Ana Bara/Hjertquist (VCU) - 8-5
No. 3 - Loomans/Sabacinski (W&M) def. Yakavleva/Pietzuch (VCU) - 8-2