Raleigh, N.C. - The William and Mary women's tennis team opened a stretch of
three straight matches against ACC competition, suffering a 5-2 setback at N.C.
State on Thursday afternoon. The Tribe, which is ranked No. 65 nationally,
fell to 4-10 on the year, while the Wolfpack improved to 5-7.
After N.C. State claimed the doubles point with wins at all
three positions, junior
Anik Cepeda evened the contest with a straight-sets win
at the No. 4 singles post. She recorded her fifth win of the year, downing
Ashley Miller, 6-0, 6-3, to tie the team match at one. The Wolfpack answered
with straight-sets wins at the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 6 positions to clinched the team victory.
Senior
Katie Kargl bumped her team-leading singles win total
to 11 with a three-set triumph at the No. 5 slot. The Tribe senior took the opening
set, 6-3, before N.C. State's Christy Sipes bounced back to win the second,
6-3. Kargl pulled out her fifth dual-match win of the year with a 6-3 victory
in the decisive third set.
At the No. 3 singles position, sophomore
Hope Johnson dropped the opening set, 6-3, to
Chloe Smith, but rallied to force a third set with a 6-4
victory in the second. Smith rounded out the Wolfpack win with by taking the
third set super tiebreaker, 10-7.
The Tribe will
continue its road trip at No. 7 Virginia on Sunday, March 18. The match is
slated for a noon start in Charlottesville.
N.C. State 5, #65 William and Mary 2
Singles
No. 1 - #60 Joelle Kissell (NCSU) def. #109
Maria Belaya (W&M) - 6-2, 7-5
No. 2 - Tatiana Illova (NCSU) def.
Jeltje Loomans (W&M) - 6-4, 6-1
No. 3 - Chloe Smith (NCSU) def.
Hope Johnson (WM) - 6-3, 4-6, 10-7
No. 4 -
Anik Cepeda (W&M) def. Ashley Miller (NCSU) - 6-0, 6-3
No. 5 -
Katie Kargl (W&M) def. Christy Sipes (NCSU) - 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
No. 6 - Nicole Martinez (NCSU) def.
Sydney Smith (W&M) - 6-1, 6-3
Order of finish: 4, 1, 6, 2*, 3, 5
Doubles
No. 1 - Kissell/Miller (NCSU) def. Loomans/Johnson (W&M) - 8-3
No. 2 - Illova/Martinez (NCSU) def. Belaya/Cepada (W&M)
- 8-4
No. 3 - Hande/Smith (NCSU) def. Smith/Ford (W&M) - 8-6
Order of finish: 1, 2*, 3
