Williamsburg, Va. - Senior Katie Kargl rallied for a three-set win in clinching the William and Mary women's tennis team's 4-3 victory over No. 72-ranked Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon at the Millie West Tennis Facility. The Tribe raced out to a 3-0 lead by winning the doubles point and claiming straight-set wins at the No. 1 and No. 3 singles positions, before Wisconsin came back with three straight three-set wins to set up the deciding match at the No. 6 position. W&M improved to 4-9 on the year, while Wisconsin fell to 8-4.

"Today was a great team win," head coach Meredith Geiger-Walton said. "There were a number of matches that went down to the wire, and we showed a lot of fight and pride in finding a way to persevere. We have dealt with a lot of challenges this season and have yet to play with a full lineup, but this team continues to show the attitude and will to win that can overcome those obstacles."

With the team score even at three, Kargl found herself in down a break at 6-5 in the third set against Wisconsin's Angela Chupa at the No. 6 slot. The Tribe senior broke Chupa in the 12th game to force a third-set tiebreaker. After the Badger player claimed the opening point of the tiebreaker, Kargl reeled off five straight points to seize control. Chupa answered for UW with three straight to close to 5-4, but Kargl would not be out done as she won the final two points to claim the match in a third set, 7-6 (4). Kargl, who won the opening set 6-4, before dropping the second in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (2), won her team-leading 10th singles match of the season.

"It was very symbolic that our senior, Katie Kargl, clinched the match," Geiger-Walton said. "Especially considering that she has battled through injuries for much of her career, she never gave up and found a way to win. She represents what our team is about with her fight."

The Tribe jumped out to a 1-0 lead by claiming the doubles point with victories at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions. The College's No. 1 team of sophomores Hope Johnson and Jeltje Loomans rolled to a spotless 8-0 victory over Alaina Trgovich and Hannah Berner in improving to 2-0. Junior Anik Cepeda and sophomore Maria Belaya clinched the point with an 8-5 win at the No. 2 post. over Chupa and Aleksandra Markovic, 8-5, for their second win of the year. The Wisconsin teams came in with impressive doubles marks at 9-2 and 8-3, respectively.

Belaya continued her impressive play at the No. 1 singles position, recording her second straight win. A match after upsetting the No. 30-ranked singles player in the country from Texas, the Tribe sophomore rolled to a 6-0, 6-3 win over Wisconsin's NIkcy Stracar to up the Green and Gold advantage to 2-0. She improved to 8-4 in dual-match play with her fifth victory in the last six matches.

Sophomore Kayla Rizzolo followed shortly after to increase the margin to 3-0. Playing her second match at the No. 3 singles post, Rizzolo took the opening set, 6-4, from Berner, before claiming her ninth win of the season with a 6-1 victory in the second. Wisconsin responded with three straight three-set wins at the No. 2, No. 4 and No. 5 positions to draw even at three, before Kargl won the clinching match at No. 6.

W&M returns to action with three straight matches against ACC competition, including the first two on the road next week. The Green and Gold travels to No. 74 N.C. State on Thursday, March 18, for a 4 p.m. match, before heading to Charlottesville, Va., to face No. 6 Virginia at noon on Sunday, March 18. The College returns home to the Millie West Tennis Facility on Tuesday, March 20, to face No. 59 Virginia Tech at 1 p.m.

#62 William and Mary 4, #72 Wisconsin 3
Singles
No. 1 - Maria Belaya (W&M) def. Nicky Stracar (UW) - 6-0, 6-3
No. 2 - Alaina Trgovich (UW) def. Jeltje Loomans (W&M) - 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3)
No. 3 - Kayla Rizzolo (W&M) def. Hannah Berner (UW) - 6-4, 6-1
No. 4 - Sarah Loebel (UW) def. Hope Johnson (W&M) - 6-1, 2-6, 6-4
No. 5 - Nova Patel (UW) def. Anik Cepeda (W&M) - 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (5)
No. 6 - Katie Kargl (W&M) vs. Angela Chupa (UW) - 6-4, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (4)
Finishing Order: 1, 3, 4, 2, 5, 6*

Doubles
No. 1 - Johnson/Loomans (W&M) def. Trgovich/Berner (UW) - 8-0
No. 2 - Belaya/Cepeda (W&M) def. Chupa/Markovic (UW) - 8-5
No. 3 - Stracar/Patel (UW) def. Kargl/Smith (W&M) - 8-3
Finishing Order: 1, 3, 2*