WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The William and Mary women's tennis cruised into the Colonial Athletic Association Championship match with a 4-0 victory over No. 4 seed Delaware in the semifinal on Saturday morning at the
Millie West Tennis Facility. The Green and Gold grabbed the doubles point with wins at the top two positions before juniors
Maria Belaya,
Jeltje Loomans and
Hope Johnson tallied singles wins to advance W&M into the title match. The Tribe improved to 16-5 on the year, while Delaware fell to 12-6.
Belaya and freshman
Leeza Nemchinov, the CAA Rookie of the Year, dominated at the top doubles post to give W&M the early advantage. The Green and Gold duo bounced Nataliya Naumova and Christina Harrington, 8-2, to improve to 2-0 on the year. The First-Team All-CAA tandem of senior
Anik Cepeda and Johnson clinched the initial point of the match with an 8-4 triumph over Danea Jonjic and Kim Milla at the No. 2 slot. The Tribe pair won its fifth straight match to improve to 9-8 on the year, including a 7-2 ledger at the No. 2 post.
Loomans wasted little time pushing the Tribe advantage to 2-0 with a straight-sets win at the No. 4 slot. After earning All-CAA second team honors in singles, she won her second straight match, rolling to a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Olivia Heim. Loomans upped her dual-match mark to 11-8 with her 12th victory overall on the season.
Belaya, the CAA Player of the Year, continued her strong campaign, dropping just one game at the No. 1 position on the way to her 20th win of the year. The Tribe junior, who is ranked No. 116 nationally, rolled Danea Jonjic, 6-0, 6-1, winning for the fourth time in her last five matches. Belaya notched her 12th win at the No. 1 post.
Johnson clinched the Tribe advancement with a triumph at the No. 5 spot. The Third-Team All-CAA singles selection breezed to a 6-1, 6-1 win over Christina Harrington for her 10th dual-match win of the season and fifth at the No. 5 slot. Overall, Johnson tallied her 15th win on the year.
In the other CAA semifinal, No. 2 seed UNCW rallied past No. 3 seed James Madison, 4-1. The Dukes won the doubles point, before the Seahawks rattled off four-straight singles wins at the No. 1, No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 positions to advance to the championship match.
W&M and UNCW will meet for the CAA Championship and the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Championship on Sunday, April 21. The title tilt is slated for a 10 a.m. start time at the Millie West Tennis Facility in Williamsburg. Earlier this season, the Green and Gold knocked off UNCW, 4-3, at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center in Williamsburg. The Tribe is 8-0 all-time against the Seahawks, including a 4-0 mark in Williamsburg. Live scoring will be available for the both the men's and women's championship matches at TribeAthletics.com.
#1 William and Mary 4, #4 Delaware 0
Singles
No. 1 - #116
Maria Belaya (W&M) def. Danea Jonjic (Delaware) – 6-0, 6-1
No. 2 –
Leeza Nemchinov (W&M) vs. Dorothy Safron (Delaware) – DNF, 6-3, 5-3
No. 3 –
Anik Cepeda (W&M) vs. Nataliya Naumova (Delaware) – DNF, 6-6
No. 5 –
Hope Johnson (W&M) def. Christina Harrington (Delaware) – 6-1, 6-1
No. 6 –
Sydney Smith (W&M) vs. Kim Milla (Delaware) – DNF, 6-0, 4-2
Finishing Order: 4, 1, 5*
Doubles
No. 1 – Belaya/Nemchinov (W&M) def. Naumova/Harrington (Delaware) – 8-2
No. 2 – Cepeda/Johnson (W&M) def. Jonjic/Milla (Delaware) – 8-4
No. 3 – Loomans/Smith (W&M) vs. Safron/Heim (Delaware) – DNF, 7-5
Finishing Order: 1, 2*
