WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The No. 47-ranked William and Mary women's tennis team won its third straight match, cruising to a 6-1 win over Big 12 foe West Virginia on Saturday afternoon at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center. The Green and Gold claimed the doubles point with wins at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions, before winning the first five singles positions off the court in improving to 7-2 on the year.

Playing together for the first time in the dual-match campaign, the Tribe team of junior Sydney Smith and freshman Leeza Nemchinov dominated Vivan Tsui and Irinka Toidze to the tune of an 8-0 score at the No. 3 doubles post to stake the Tribe to the early lead. The No. 4-ranked team in the country of juniors Maria Belaya and Jeltje Loomans clinched the initial point of the match, downing Hailey Barrett and Ikttesh Chahal, 8-4, at the top position. The Tribe duo won its fifth straight in improving to 16-2 overall and 7-1 in dual-match play.

Loomans rolled to a 6-1, 6-2 over Barrett at the No. 2 spot, increasing the Tribe's lead to 2-0. The W&M junior upped her season ledger to 8-4, while winning her third straight dual match and seventh overall. Belaya wasted little time bringing W&M within a match of the team triumph. After winning the first set, 6-4, over Audrey Wooland, the Tribe's top singles player claimed an unblemished 6-0 triumph in the second set for her second straight victory. Belaya improved to 11-8 overall with her fifth win at the top slot.

Nemchinov upended Chahal, 6-4, 6-4, at the No. 3 position to clinch the W&M victory. It marked the Tribe rookie's third straight victory as she ran her singles ledger to 13-9 overall and an impressive 7-2 in dual-match play. Smith followed suit with her 10th singles win of the season in straight sets at the No. 6 post. She downed Irinka Toidze, 6-2, 6-0, for her third dual-match triumph of the year.

Senior Anik Cepeda rounded out the Tribe victory by continuing her strong singles play. The College Station, Texas, native won for the 11th time in her last 14 contests, downing Vivan Tsui, 6-2, 6-3, at the No. 5 position. Cepeda improved her team-best singles wins total to 15, while upping her dual-match mark to 7-2.

The Tribe returns to action in a battle of nationally-ranked teams when it hosts No. 30 South Carolina at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 17 at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center. The Gamecocks, who are led by former W&M head coach Kevin Epley, downed No. 49 VCU, 4-2, in Richmond on Saturday to improve to 4-2. Live stats for the W&M-USC match will be available at TribeAthletics.com.

#47 William and Mary 6, West Virginia 1
Singles
No. 1 - Maria Belaya (W&M) def. Audrey Wooland (W.Va.) - 6-4, 6-0
No. 2 - Jeltje Loomans (W&M) def. Hailey Barrett (W.Va.) - 6-1, 6-2
No. 3 - Leeza Nemchinov (W&M) def. Ikttesh Chahal (W.Va.) - 6-4, 6-4
No. 4 - Emily Mathis (W.Va.) def. Hope Johnson (W&M) - 2-6, 5-4, retire
No. 5 - Anik Cepeda (W&M) def. Vivan Tsui (W.Va.) - 6-2, 6-3
No. 6 - Sydney Smith (W&M) def. Irinka Toidze (W.Va.) - 6-2, 6-0
Finishing Order: 2, 1, 3*, 6, 5, 4

Doubles
No. 1 - #4 Belaya/Loomans (W&M) def. Chahal/Barrett (W.Va.) - 8-4
No. 2 - Cepeda/Johnson (W&M) vs. Mathis/Wooland (W.Va.) - 7-3, abandoned
No. 3 - Nemchinov/Smith (W&M) def. Tsui/Toidze (W.Va.) - 8-0
Finishing Order: 3, 1*