RICHMOND, Va. - The William and Mary women's tennis team swept the first weekly Colonial Athletic Association awards of 2015, the league announced on Wednesday, and the Tribe also moved into the ITA National Rankings for the first time this season. Junior
Leeza Nemchinov took home the CAA Player of the Week honor for the second time in her career, while the freshman doubles duo of
Maria Groener and
Olivia Thaler garnered CAA Team of the Week accolades. Off to a 3-1 start, the Tribe was ranked No. 74 in the ITA National Rankings released on Wednesday.
Nemchinov received the honor after posting a perfect 3-0 singles ledger at No. 1. After opening the season with a straight-sets win against Richmond, the Tribe junior turned in an impressive three-set victory over Duke's two-time All-American Beatrice Capra on Jan. 18. Capra finished last season ranked No. 5 nationally in singles and as a junior player in 2011 advanced to the third round of the U.S. Open. Nemchinov closed out the first two weeks of the season with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Victoria Kisialeva of Penn State in the Tribe's 5-2 win on Sunday. She owns a team-best 11-2 singles ledger on the year and has also been a fixture at No. 1 doubles positing a 3-1 dual-match mark.
Groener and Thaler earned the doubles honor after starting the 2015 dual-match campaign with a 4-0 mark, helping the Tribe to the doubles point in each of the last three contests. In the Tribe's narrow 4-3 loss to No. 2 Duke, the Tribe rookie pair propelled the Green and Gold to the doubles point with a 6-3 win over Rebecca Smaller and Alyssa Smith at the No. 3 position. This past weekend, the pair posted wins over Morgan State and Penn State, clinching the doubles point against the Nittany Lions with a 6-3 triumph over Katherine Whiteaway and Jacqueline Zuhse. Groener and Thaler own a 6-3 doubles mark this season.
The Tribe returns to action with a pair of matches against nationally-ranked competition this weekend. W&M hits the road for the first time in traveling to No. 61 Wake Forest on Friday, Jan. 30, at 3:30 p.m. The Green and Gold returns to the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center to host No. 63 Maryland on Sunday, Feb. 1, at 2 p.m. FREE pizza and soda will be provided to fans courtesy of the Tribe women's tennis program.
