WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - After returning to the top of the Colonial Athletic Association in head coach Tyler Thomson's first season at the helm, the William and Mary women's tennis team will look to further cement itself as a program on the rise on a national stage. Coming off a 17-6 season and the program's 22nd league title, the Tribe returns five of its top six players from a season ago and adds to it a dynamic group of two freshmen and a sophomore transfer. In the ITA national rankings released on Jan. 2, the Tribe was rated No. 40 in the country.

Highlighting the Tribe roster is a quartet of seniors: Maria Belaya, Hope Johnson, Jeltje Loomans and Sydney Smith. The four have seen the Green and Gold capture a pair of CAA Championships, make two NCAA Tournament appearances and rack up 39 total dual-match victories. Sophomore sensation Leeza Nemchinov rounds out the Tribe's top five returners from last season. W&M finished last season ranked No. 44 nationally, including a pair of wins over national top-30 competition.

Belaya headlines the Tribe lineup after earning CAA Player of the Year honors last season. The two-time First-Team All-CAA selection owns 46 career singles victories, including 23 last season. As a junior, Belaya earned a spot in the NCAA Singles Championship as the top player in the CAA. She took her play to a new level during the fall of her senior campaign, jumping to a career-high 65th in the national rankings.

At the ITA All-American Championships in October, Belaya won three straight matches in the qualifying bracket, including two against nationally ranked foes, to earn a spot in the exclusive 32-player main singles flight. The Tribe senior upset the No. 7-ranked player in the country from Clemson to advance to the round of 16. Also, Belaya advanced to the semifinals of the ITA Atlantic Region Singles Championship on the way to a 13-6 ledger.

Loomans enjoyed a stellar fall campaign as well, capped by her highest career national ranking at No. 54. The two-time All-CAA selection posted a 9-4 singles ledger, which included a quarterfinalist appearance in the ITA Atlantic Region Singles Championship. She won seven of her final nine matches during the fall, bringing her career win total to 44.

In each of her three seasons with the Green and Gold, Loomans has advanced to the NCAA Individual Championships in some capacity, including an appearance in the singles championship in 2011. Last season, she was a Second-Team All-CAA honoree in singles competition.

As a junior last season, Johnson enjoyed her best season with the Green and Gold. A fixture in the Tribe lineup, she earned all-league honors in both singles and doubles, including third-team accolades in individual competition. Johnson tallied 15 singles wins in 2012-13, including 10 in dual-match play.

Despite missing the fall season due to injury, she owns 31 career singles victories and 35 career doubles wins. Johnson is a three-time All-CAA honoree and competed in the NCAA Doubles Championship in 2011.

Rounding out the Tribe senior quartet is Sydney Smith, who has come into her own over the last two seasons. As a junior, the Washington, D.C., native won 13 matches, including six in dual-match competition. This fall, Smith posted five singles triumphs and advanced to the finals of the A-3 Singles Flight at the Elon Fall Invitational. At the June Stewart Invitational, she nearly knocked off the first nationally-ranked player of her career, taking the No. 51-ranked player in country to three sets before falling. Smith capped her fall campaign with an impressive three-set victory over Maja Vujic of Minnesota at the Kitty Harrison Invitational.

In her freshman campaign last season, Nemchinov garnered First-Team All-CAA honors and was named the league rookie of the year. She posted a 23-12 singles ledger, including a remarkable 17-5 record in dual-match competition playing primarily at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions. She continued her exceptional play during the fall season, posting a 9-6 ledger. Nemchinov won five of the last six matches in the fall, including all three at the Kitty Harrison Invitational. Her fall season culminated in the first national ranking of her career at No. 89.

Sophomore Jackie Lee also returns for the Green and Gold adding another veteran presence. She started to play the best tennis of her W&M career during the fall, posting three victories at the Elon Fall Invitational.

Julia Casselbury joined Nemchinov and Lee in the Tribe's sophomore class after transferring from Boston College. Casselbury posted six singles wins, including three to advance to the finals of the A-2 Singles Flight at the Elon Fall Invitational. She registered a 6-4 singles ledger at Boston College, following a prep career in which she ranked No. 40 nationally and was a five-star recruit by the Tennis Recruiting Network. Casselbury won a Pennsylvania State Championship during her high school career at Lancaster Country Day School.

Joining Casselbury as newcomers to the Green and Gold are freshmen Mélanie Roy and Nabila Farah. Both joined the Tribe with impressive junior resumes and enjoyed success during their first falls at W&M. Farah, who played for the Bolivian Fed Cup Teams in 2012 and 2013, caught fire toward the end of the fall season, winning five of her final six matches, including all three at the Kitty Harrison Invitational. Of her six singles wins, she picked up a pair to advance to the round of 16 at the ITA Atlantic Region Singles Championship.

Roy also finished the fall campaign on a hot streak, winning four of her final five matches. She posted seven total singles wins, including a perfect 3-0 singles ledger at the fall-ending Kitty Harrison Invitational. Roy tallied a victory in the ITA Atlantic Region Singles Championship as well.

In doubles action, the Tribe sports one the top pairs in the country in the form of Belaya and Loomans. The duo is ranked No. 6 in the ITA National Doubles Rankings released on Jan. 2 after finishing last season ranked No. 13. Loomans and Belaya own a career ledger of 57-13 as a pair, including a 14-2 mark during the fall. The tandem garnered First-Team All-CAA each of the last two seasons and competed in both the 2012 and 2013 NCAA Doubles Championship.

Loomans leads all Tribe returners with 82 career doubles victories, while Belaya is second at 69. Nemchinov posted 14 doubles victories in her freshman campaign and ended the season playing at the No. 1 doubles post with Belaya, racking up a 3-1 mark. Last season, Smith became a fixture in the Tribe's double lineup, including competing in both the CAA and NCAA Championships. She owns 24 career doubles victories. During the fall, Smith teamed with Roy and advanced to the ITA Atlantic Region Doubles Championship second round on the way to three wins as a pair.

The Green and Gold will compete against one of the toughest schedules in the country. The 20-match slate includes 13 against teams ranked in the ITA national rankings and a total 11 versus teams that competed in the 2013 NCAA Tournament. Three Tribe opponents were national seeds from the tourney and three teams advanced to the NCAA Round of 16. Included in the Tribe's home ledger are match-ups with No. 13 Virginia in the home opener on Jan. 15 and against No. 18 Texas Tech on Feb. 4. The Green and Gold kicks off the season at No. 10 Duke on Sunday, Jan. 12.