WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The William and Mary women's tennis team swept singles competition in picking up a 6-1 win over instate foe Richmond to kick off the dual-match season on Saturday afternoon at the McCormack-Naglesen Tennis Center. After dropping the doubles points, W&M won all six singles tilts, including five in straight sets, to cement its 42nd straight victory over the Spiders.
In doubles action, the Tribe rookie pair of
Maria Groener and
Olivia Thaler posted a 6-3 win at the No. 3 post over the UR team of Emily Gitman and Baby Rosalas. The W&M duo evened its season mark at 3-3. Despite the Tribe win at No. 3, Richmond answered with wins at the top two positions, including a close battle at No. 1, to clinch the initial point of the match.
W&M answered the bell after dropping the doubles point by winning all six singles contests. At the top two posts, junior
Leeza Nemchinov and senior
Jeltje Loomans dropped just four combined games in tallying victories. Playing at the top spot, Nemchinov downed Anna Abadias Morales, 6-2, 6-0, to improve to 9-2 on the season. Loomans dropped a game in each set, upending Brittany Boys, 6-1, 6-1, at No. 2. The win for Loomans was her eighth of the season and 52nd of her career.
Sophomore
Mélanie Roy notched her fourth win of the season, winning at the No. 3 spot. She downed Melissa Kandinata, 6-1, 7-6.
The Tribe's trio of freshmen all won at the bottom three singles spots to pick up their first career dual-match victories. Thaler needed three sets, but outlasted Rosalas, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, at No. 4 to improve to 7-5 on the year. Groener upped her mark to 8-4 with her fourth straight win. She dropped just two games in bouncing Katya Salas, 6-0, 6-2, at No. 5. Freshman
Cecily Wuenscher rounded out the singles wins with a victory at No. 6. She pushed her ledger to 5-3 with a 6-3, 6-1 triumph over Kelsey Williams.
The Tribe closes out its dual-match opening weekend against No. 2-ranked Duke on Sunday afternoon. The match is slated for 1 p.m. start time at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center. There will be FREE pizza and soda available to fans at the match on Sunday.
William and Mary 6, Richmond 1
Singles
No. 3 –
Mélanie Roy (W&M) def. Melissa Kandinata (UR) – 6-1, 7-5
No. 4 –
Olivia Thaler (W&M) def. Gaby Rosalas (UR) – 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
Doubles
No. 1 – Abadias/Kandinata (UR) def. Loomans/Nemchinov (W&M) – 7-5
No. 2 – Boys/Salas (UR) def. Roy/Casselbury (W&M) – 6-3
No. 3 – Groener/Thaler (W&M) def. Rosalas/Gitman (UR) – 6-3
