Williamsburg, Va. - Sophomores Jeltje Loomans and Maria Belaya upset the No. 20-ranked doubles team in the country, but the shorthanded William and Mary women's tennis team dropped a 5-2 decision to visiting and No. 51-ranked Maryland on Sunday afternoon at the McCormack Nagelsen Tennis Center. Loomans and Belaya chinched the doubles point for the College (1-6) to open the match, but the Terrapins (4-4) won five of the six singles matches to pull out the victory. The Tribe was forced to play without the services of its top two players in sophomore Kayla Rizzolo (injury) and junior Marlen Mesgarzadeh (illness).

After a Terp win at the No. 3 doubles position gave the visitors an early advantage, the Tribe tandem of junior Anik Cepeda and sophomore Hope Johnson evened pairs play with a dominating win at the No. 2 post. The Green and Gold duo claimed its second win of the year, downing Jordan Hansbrough and Mikele Irazusta, 8-2.

The doubles point came down to the top position where the College's duo of Belaya and Loomans squared off with the country's No. 20-ranked team of Ana Belzunce and Welma Luus. Leading 6-3, the Tribe tandem notched its fifth straight triumph by claiming in the final two games and clinched the doubles point. It marked the first nationally ranked foe that Belaya and Loomans knocked off this season as they avenged a setback to Belzunce and Luus suffered during the ITA Atlantic Region Doubles Championship semifinals in the fall. The Tribe pair improved to 12-5 on the year and 5-2 in dual-match competition at the No. 1 position.

Senior Katie Kargl continued her winning ways in singles play with a victory at the No. 5 position, but Maryland countered with victories at the No. 3 and No. 6 positions to even the match at two. Kargl rolled to a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Hansbrough for her third straight singles triumph. The Tribe senior improved to 9-8 overall on the year.

The balance of the match came down to the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 4 singles positions. Maryland clinched with team triumph as their nationally ranked singles players pulled out wins at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. After winning the opening set, 6-0, against Vroni Van Berio at the No. 4 position, Cepeda dropped a hotly-contested tiebreaker set in the second. With the team results already determined, the Terrapin player was able to pull out a 10-7 super tiebreaker victory over Cepeda in the third set to cap the Maryland win.

W&M returns to action when it travels to Syracuse, N.Y., for a pair of matches, Feb. 24-25. The Tribe faces the host and No. 73-ranked Orange at 6 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 24, before facing No. 25-ranked Yale on Saturday, Feb. 25, at 11 a.m. The tilt with Yale will be a rematch of last season's first round NCAA Tournament contest played in Durham, N.C. The College's next home match will be Saturday, March 3, against No. 75 Wake Forest at 11 a.m.

#51 Maryland 5, #60 William and Mary 2
Singles
No. 1 - #46 Cristina Stancu (MD) def. Jeltje Loomans (W&M) - 7-6 (1), 6-1
No. 2 - #99 Ana Belzunce (MD) def. Maria Belaya (W&M) - 6-4, 6-3
No. 3 - Welma Luus (MD) def. Hope Johnson (W&M) - 6-2, 6-2
No. 4 - Vroni Van Berio (MD) def. Anik Cepeda (W&M) - 0-6, 7-6 (3), 10-7
No. 5 - Katie Kargl (W&M) def. Jordan Hansbrough (MD) - 6-1, 6-1
No. 6 - Mikele Irazusta (MD) def. Sydney Smith (W&M) - 6-4, 6-2
Finishing Order: 3, 5, 6, 1, 2*, 4

Doubles
No. 1 - Loomans/Belaya (W&M) vs. #20 Belzunce/Luus (MD) - 8-3
No. 2 - Cepeda/Johnson (W&M) def. Hansbrough/Irazusta (MD) - 8-2
No. 3 - Stancu/Van Berio (MD) def. Kargl/Smith (W&M) - 8-1
Finishing Order: 3, 2, 1*