WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - One day after upending a nationally-ranked opponent, the William and Mary women's tennis team suffered a 5-2 setback to a hot Wake Forest team on Sunday afternoon at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center. After a close doubles point went to the visitors, the No. 43-ranked Tribe force a trio of singles matches to three sets with wins at the top two positions, before falling to its ACC counterpart. W&M fell to 3-7 on the year, while Wake Forest, which was coming off a win at No. 44-ranked VCU on Saturday, ran its mark to a perfect 6-0.
Senior
Maria Belaya led the way for the Green and Gold with a three-set win at the No. 1 post. It marked her third straight victory and fourth in her last five games. Belaya took the opening set from Andrea Retolaza, 6-4, before the Deac's player rallied with a 6-4 win in the second. The No. 65-ranked Tribe senior would not be outdone as she tallied her 50th career singles win for the Green and Gold with a 10-4 triumph in the third-set super tiebreaker. Belaya bumped her team-leading singles record to 17-9.
Sophomore
Leeza Nemchinov provided the Tribe's other point on the afternoon with a come-from-behind three-set win at No. 2. She split tiebreaker sets with Kimmy Guerin, before outlasting her Wake Forest counterpart, 10-7, in the third-set super tiebreaker. Nemchinov upped her season ledger to 15-8 overall and a team-best 6-2 in dual-match play with her third straight win.
After Wake Forest jumped out to a lead in doubles with a victory at No. 2, the battle was on at the No. 1 and No. 3 positions. The tilt as No. 3 was tied at five, before the Demon Deacons pulled out a close 6-4 win at No. 1 to clinch the initial point of the match. Wake Forest picked up straight sets wins at the bottom three singles positions to cement the victory.
Freshman
Mélanie Roy dropped her second straight tight three-set match at No. 3. The Green and Gold rookie won the opening set, 6-1, before Wake Forest's Samantha Asch took the second set, 6-2, and then outlasted Roy in the third-set super tiebreaker, 10-8.
The Tribe returns to action when it travels to Columbia, S.C., for a pair of matches, Feb. 22-23. W&M will face new CAA member College of Charleston on Saturday, Feb. 22, at 1 p.m., before meeting the host and No. 33-ranked South Carolina on Sunday, Feb. 23, at 11 a.m.
Wake Forest 5, #43 William and Mary 2
Singles
No. 1 - #65
Maria Belaya (W&M) def. Andrea Retolaza (WF) – 6-4, 4-6, 10-4
No. 2 - #89
Leeza Nemchinov (W&M) def. Kimmy Guerin (WF) – 6-7 (6), 7-6 (5), 10-7
No. 3 – Samantha Asch (WF) def.
Mélanie Roy (W&M) – 1-6, 6-2, 10-8
No. 4 – Luisa Fernandez (WF) def.
Nabila Farah (W&M) – 6-3, 6-1
No. 5 – Kasey Gardiner (WF) def.
Sydney Smith (W&M) – 6-1, 6-1
Doubles
No. 1 – Zhang/Gardiner (WF) def. Belaya/Nemchinov (W&M) – 6-4
No. 2 – Fernandez/Asch (WF) def. Casselbury/Roy (W&M) – 6-2
No. 3 – Farah/Smith (W&M) vs. Retoloza/Guerin (WF) – DNF, 5-5
