WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The William and Mary women's tennis team continued its winning ways, running its streak to six games with a doubleheader sweep of Ivy League foe Penn, 6-1, and CAA counterpart James Madison, 5-2, on Saturday at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center. Senior Anik Cepeda, junior Maria Belaya and freshman Leeza Nemchinov posted two wins apiece in singles and doubles action to lead the Green and Gold. The Tribe improved to 10-2 on the year, including perfect records against regional foes (6-0) and in CAA play (2-0).

In doubles competition against Penn, the Tribe took the initial point of the match with wins at the top two positions. Cepeda and junior Hope Johnson start things off with a convincing 8-1 win over Kasia Jania and Julia Rodin at the No. 2 spot for their third win of the year. Belaya and junior Jeltje Loomans, who are ranked No. 4 nationally, continued to dominate the competition with an 8-3 victory over the No. 22-ranked Penn duo of Sonya Latycheva and Sol Eskenazi to clinch the doubles point. It marked the Tribe duo's third win over ranked competition during the dual-match season.

Belaya quickly pushed the Tribe advantage to 2-0 with a nearly perfect 6-1, 6-0 victory over Stephanie Do at the No. 2 singles post. Cepeda and Johnson picked up wins at the No. 4 and No. 5 positions to clinch the Tribe victory. Both players took opening sets in tiebreakers, before Johnson breezed past Kasia Jania, 6-0, in the second. Cepeda downed Alex Ion 6-1 in the second set to clinch the Tribe win.

Nemchinov and junior Sydney Smith rounded out 6-1 Tribe victory over Penn with wins at No. 3 and No. 6. Smith recorded her 11th win of the year, including her fourth dual-match victory, as she downed Emma Whitfield, 6-4, 6-3, at the No. 6 slot. Nemchinov needed three sets, but pulled out a 6-3, 6-7, 6-0 win over Sonya Latycheva.

In the tilt against CAA foe James Madison, the Tribe again used wins at the top two doubles slots to take a 1-0 lead. Belaya and Loomans ran their winning streak to eight straight, improving to 19-2 overall and 10-1 in dual match play, with a resounding 8-0 win over Michelle Nguyen and Taylor Pinchoff at the top pairs slot. Cepeda and Nemchinov clinched the point with an 8-2 win over Katherine Bulling and Cara Wirth at the No. 2 post. The Tribe duo improved to 8-6 overall and 3-2 in dual-match competition.

Belaya and Nemchinov turned in strong performances at the top two singles slots to increase the Tribe advantage to 3-0. Belaya upped her win streak to five straight with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Pinchoff at the No. 1 slot. She improved to 14-8 overall with her seven win at the No. 1 position. At No. 2, Nemchinov won her sixth straight, bouncing Jacqueline Palmucci, 6-1, 6-3, to improve to 16-9 overall. The Tribe rookie won for the eighth time in her last nine matches and is 10-2 in dual-match play.

For the second time in as many match, Cepeda clinched the team victory with her eighth win in the last nine matches. She improved her team-best singles mark to 18-11 with a 6-2, 6-1 triumph over Ruxandra Andriescu at No. 3. It marked Cepeda's fifth straight win as she increased her dual-match mark to 10-2.

Johnson rounded out the Tribe victory with her second win of the day and sixth in dual-match play this season. The Tribe junior defeated Katherine Bulling, 6-1, 7-5, at the No. 4 position for her 11th win of the year.

The Tribe hits the road to open a five-match road wing on Sunday, March 3, at ACC foe Wake Forest. The match is slated for a noon start in Winston-Salem, N.C.

#37 William and Mary 6, Penn 1
Singles
No. 1 - Sol Eskenazi (Penn) def. Jeltje Loomans (W&M) - 3-6, 6-4, 4-1, retire
No. 2 - Maria Belaya (W&M) def. Stephanie Do (Penn) - 6-1, 6-0
No. 3 - Leeza Nemchinov (W&M) def. Sonya Latycheva (Penn) - 6-3, 6-7, 6-0
No. 4 - Anik Cepeda (W&M) def. Alex Ion (Penn) - 7-6, 6-1
No. 5 - Hope Johnson (W&M) def. Kasia Jania (Penn) - 7-6, 6-0
No. 6 - Sydney Smith (W&M) def. Emma Whitfield (Penn) - 6-4, 6-3
Finishing Order: 2, 5, 4*, 1, 6, 3

Doubles
No. 1 - #4 Belaya/Loomans (W&M) def. #22 Eskenazi/Latycheva (Penn) - 8-3
No. 2 - Cepeda/Johnson (W&M) def. Rodin/Jania (Penn) - 8-1
No. 3 - Nemchinov/Smith (W&M) vs. Do/Ion (Penn) - 5-2, abandoned
Finishing Order: 2, 1*

#37 William and Mary 5, James Madison 2
Singles
No. 1 - Maria Belaya (W&M) def. Taylor Pinchoff (JMU) - 6-1, 6-2
No. 2 - Leeza Nemchinov (W&M) def. Jacqueline Palmucci (JMU) - 6-1, 6-3
No. 3 - Anik Cepeda (W&M) def. Ruxandra Andriescu (JMU) - 6-2, 6-1
No. 4 - Hope Johnson (W&M) def. Katherine Bulling (JMU) - 6-1, 7-5
No. 5 - Cara Wirth (JMU) def. Sydney Smith (W&M) - 6-4, 6-1
No. 6 - Megan Douglass (JMU) def. Jackie Lee (W&M) - 5-7, 6-0, 6-3
Finishing Order: 2, 1, 5, 3*, 4, 6

Doubles
No. 1 - #4 Belaya/Loomans (W&M) def. Nguyen/Pinchoff (JMU) - 8-0
No. 2 - Cepeda/Nemchinov (W&M) def. Bulling/Wirth (JMU) - 8-2
No. 3 - Lee/Smith (W&M) vs. Palmucci/Andriescu (JMU) - 4-3, abandoned
Finishing Order: 1, 2*