WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The No. 55 William and Mary women's tennis team turned in a strong singles performance in downing No. 69 N.C. State, 6-1, at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center on Saturday afternoon. After dropping the doubles point, the Tribe won all six singles matches in straight sets to record its fourth win over a nationally-ranked opponent this season. The Green and Gold upped its season ledger to 7-2, while the Wolfpack dropped to 5-3.

The Tribe's upperclassman pair of senior Jeltje Loomans and junior Leeza Nemchinov quickly turned a 1-0 deficit into a Tribe lead with wins at the top two positions. Loomans dropped just three games in downing Elisha Hande, 6-3, 6-0, for her second straight victory. She pushed her ledger to 13-4 overall, including a 6-2 mark in dual-match competition.

Nemchinov recorded her second nationally-ranked triumph over the last three matches to push her win streak to nine matches. She upended No. 84-ranked Joanna Nalborska, 6-3, 6-4, to improve to a perfect 8-0 in dual-match play and 16-2 overall.  

Sophomore Mélanie Roy increased the Tribe lead to 3-1 with a victory at No. 4. She upped her dual-match ledger to 5-4 with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Nicole Martinez.

The freshman trio of Cecily Wuenscher, Olivia Thaler and Maria Groener made it a clean sweep in singles play. Wuenscher clinched the Tribe win with her second straight victory at No. 6. The Green and Gold rookie bounced N.C. State's Tayla Stenta, 6-3, 6-1, to even her mark at 8-8 on the year.

Thaler moved up a spot in the lineup and improved to 2-0 at No. 3 this season with her fourth straight victory. She defeated Liza Fieldsend, 6-2, 7-6 (5). Fieldsend had spent the majority of the dual-match season at No. 2 singles for the Wolfpack and was 10-8 entering the tilt. Thaler improved to 12-8 on the year, including a 6-3 mark in dual-match play.

Groener rounded out the Tribe singles sweep with a victory over Sophie Nelson, 6-4, 6-3, at the No. 5 position. The triumph pushed her singles mark to 13-7 overall and 6-3 in duals.

N.C. State claimed the doubles point in narrow fashion to start the match. After the Wolfpack won at No. 3, Groener and Thaler tallied a win at No. 2 to knot pairs competition. The duo won its second straight, downing Hande and Nalborska, 6-4. The N.C. State pair entered the contest with an impressive 5-1 dual-match mark, but were downed by a Tribe tandem that improved to 9-4 overall and 7-1 in dual-match play. The initial point of the match came down to a tiebreaker at No. 1, where N.C. State's Nelson and Martinez outlasted Loomans and Nemchinov, 7-6 (5), snapping the Tribe pair's six-match winning streak.

The Tribe returns to action on Sunday, Feb. 22, with its first Colonial Athletic Association match of the season. W&M hosts the College of Charleston at 10:30 a.m. at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center.

No. 1 – Leeza Nemchinov (W&M) def. #84 Joanna Nalborska (NC State) – 6-3, 6-4

No. 2 – Jeltje Loomans (W&M) def. Elisha Hande (NC State) – 6-3, 6-0

No. 3 – Olivia Thaler (W&M) def. Liza Fieldsend (NC State) – 6-2, 7-6 (5)

No. 4 – Mélanie Roy (W&M) def. Nicole Martinez (NC State) – 6-3, 6-4

No. 5 – Maria Groener (W&M) def. Sophie Nelson (NC State) –6-4, 6-3

No. 6 – Cecily Wuenscher (W&M) def. Tayla Stenta (NC State) – 6-3, 6-1

Finishing Order: 2, 1, 4, 6*, 3, 5

No. 1 – Nelson/Martinez (NC State) def. Loomans/Nemchinov (W&M) – 7-6 (5)

No. 2 – Groener/Thaler (W&M) def. Hande/Nalborska (NC State) – 6-4

No. 3 – Janowicz/Fieldsend (NC State) def. Casselbury/Wuenscher (W&M) – 6-2

Finishing Order: 3, 2, 1*