WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The top-seeded William and Mary women's tennis team cruised into the Colonial Athletic Association Semifinals with a 4-0 victory over Delaware on Friday morning. W&M quickly captured the doubles point with victories at the top two positions, before senior
Jeltje Loomans, junior
Leeza Nemchinov and freshman
Maria Groener tallied singles wins to propel the Tribe to victory. W&M improved to 14-6 on the year, while the Blue Hens closed out the season at 6-9.
After rain overnight pushed the doubles portion of the match indoors to the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center, the Tribe made quick work of the Blue Hens. The rookie pair of
Olivia Thaler and Groener raced out to a 7-0 lead on the way to an 8-1 win over Amanda Studnicki and Kim Milla at the No. 2 position. The All-CAA second team duo improved to 15-8 overall and 13-5 in dual-match play.
W&M's nationally-ranked pair of Loomans and Nemchinov clinched the initial point of the contest with an 8-1 win over Arielle Shuren and Danea Jonjic' at the top spot. It marked the Tribe tandem's fifth-straight win in upping its ledger to an impressive 22-4 overall and 16-3 at No. 1.
The Tribe moved back outdoors to the Millie West Tennis Facility, but the change in ventue did little to quell the Tribe's momentum. Nemchinov, who is ranked No. 52 nationally, quickly pushed the Tribe lead to 2-0 with a victory at the top spot. The CAA Player of the Year disposed of Jonjic', 6-0, 6-1, for her fifth straight win. Nemchinov continued her dominating campaign, jumping to 25-3 overall and 17-1 at the No. 1 post.
Groener followed quickly after with an unblemished 6-0, 6-0 win over Milla at No. 5, extending the Tribe cushion to 3-0. The Green and Gold freshman won for the fourth time in her last five matches, while picking up her 20th singles win of the year. Groener also improved to 13-6 in dual-match play.
Loomans clinched the Tribe's passage into the semifinals with a win at the No. 2 position. The First-Team All-CAA player routed Shuren, 6-2, 6-1, for her fifth win in the last six mathes. Loomans pushed her season ledger to 22-7 overall and 14-5 at No. 2 singles.
The Tribe will face the No. 5 seed James Madison in the CAA semifinals on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. The Dukes upset No. 4 seed and defending CAA Champion UNCW, 4-0, on Friday to earn a spot in the semis. The other CAA semifinal will pit the No. 2 seed College of Charleston and the No. 3 seed Elon also at 10 a.m. Both matches will be play concurrent to one another at the Millie West Tennis Facility at the COM Courts, located next to the Commons Dining Hall on W&M's campus. The CAA Championship match is slated for 10 a.m. on Sunday.
#1 William and Mary 4, #8 Delaware 0
Singles
No. 2 –
Jeltje Loomans (W&M) def. Arielle Shuren (Delaware) – 6-2, 6-1
No. 3 –
Olivia Thaler (W&M) vs. Denny LaMachia (Delaware) – DNF, 6-3, 4-0
No. 4 –
Mélanie Roy (W&M) vs. Amanda Studnicki (Delaware) – DNF, 6-0, 3-0
No. 6 –
Julia Casselbury (W&M) vs. Christian Harrington (Delaware) – DNF, 6-1, 2-0
Finishing Order: 1, 5, 2 *
Doubles
No. 1 - #62 Loomans/Nemchinov (W&M) def. Jonjic'/Shuren (Delaware) – 8-1
No. 2 – Groener/Thaler (W&M) def. Studnicki/Milla (Delaware) – 8-1
No. 3 – Casselbury/Roy (W&M) vs. LaMachia/Martinez (Delaware) – DNF, 5-2
Finishing Order: 2, 1*
