WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The William and Mary women's tennis team kicks off the 2013
dual-match campaign with a home doubleheader at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis
Center on Tuesday, Jan. 15. The Green and Gold embarks on head coach Tyler
Thomson's first season at the helm when it welcomes instate foe Richmond and
America East opponent UMBC to Williamsburg. The Tribe hosts the Spiders at 11 a.m., before
facing the Retrievers at 5 p.m.
Thomson, who served as an assistant for the Tribe from
1997-01, returned to the program as its head coach this season. Prior to
returning to Williamsburg, he spent 11 seasons as the head coach at Minnesota,
leading the Golden Gophers to a 111 wins and a Big Ten Championship in 2003. Joining
Thomson in his first season on the Tribe coaching staff is assistant coach Jesse
Medvene-Collins. Medvene-Collins brings nine years of collegiate coaching
experience to the Green and Gold program, including assistant coach stops at
Dartmouth, Wake Forest and Iowa.
The 2013 version of Tribe tennis returns an experience
roster with six upperclassmen that won a CAA Championship in 2011. The Green
and Gold roster is led by a pair of All-CAA performing seniors in
Anik Cepeda and
Marlen Mesgarzadeh. Cepeda, a four-time All-CAA
selection, owns 68 career singles wins and 65 career doubles victories.
Mesgarzadeh is a two-time first-team All-CAA honoree in singles competition and
has been nationally ranked during her career.
The junior class is a talented four-member group. Highlighting the quartet is the duo of
Maria Belaya and
Jeltje Loomans, who comprise one of the top doubles teams in the country. The duo is
currently ranked No. 3 in the Campbell's ITA National Rankings after winning
the Atlantic Region Doubles Championship and downing three teams currently
ranked in the national top 12.
Individually, Belaya was a first-team All-CAA honoree last
season, winning 12 matches while playing primarily at the No. 1 singles
position. Loomans, who is a four-time All-CAA honoree, competed in the NCAA
Singles Championship as a freshman in 2011.
Hope Johnson and
Sydney Smith comprise the final two members
of the Green and Gold junior class. As a freshman, Johnson competed in the NCAA Doubles
Championship alongside Cepeda and earned first-team All-CAA honors along the
way. During her career, Johnson has been a fixture in the Tribe lineup
and posted five singles wins during the fall campaign. Smith is enjoying her
best season at W&M. She led the College in singles wins during the fall with
seven, while also posting seven doubles victories.
The Tribe added a pair of freshmen for the 2012-13 campaign
in
Leeza Nemchinov and
Jackie Lee. Nemchinov, who owns a career-best
combined ITF Junior Ranking of No. 137, enjoyed success during her first
fall campaign, posting six singles and five doubles victories. The Moscow,
Russia, native closed out the fall with a win over a nationally-ranked
opponent at the Kitty Harrison Invitational. Lee, a native of Brisbane,
Australia, notched her first career singles win at the Tribe
Invitational during the fall campaign.
The Tribe's initial foe of the 2013 campaign, Richmond, is
coming off its fourth straight Atlantic-10 Championship last season. In total,
the Spiders have won a conference record nine A-10 crowns, making 10 NCAA
Tournament appearances. UR finished the 2012 season at 10-5. Sophomore Melissa
Kandinata and junior Elizabeth Sims are the Spiders top returning players
earning first and second team all-league honors, respectively. W&M leads
the all-time series at 41-1, including a 24-0 ledger in Williamsburg.
UMBC is coming off a 15-8 ledger in 2012. The Retrievers won
five straight before falling in the America East Championship match to Stony
Brook, 5-2. The Tribe is 2-0 all-time against the Retrievers, including a 7-0
win to open the 2010 spring season.
Following the home opening doubleheader, the College hits
the road to face No. 3 Duke on Saturday, Jan. 19, at 6 p.m. The Green and Gold
return home on Tuesday, Jan. 22, for again another top-20 opponent, hosting No.
18 Mississippi at 6 p.m.
