WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - Different year, same script at the Colonial Athletic Association Women's Tennis Championship as the top seed William and Mary dominated No. 2 seed College of Charleston, 4-0, to claim the program's 23rd CAA Championship on Sunday afternoon at the
Millie West Tennis Facility. A case of déjà vu was in order with the Tribe using the same singles combination of 1-2-4 to win the 2015 crown after using the recipe to garner the title two years ago in Williamsburg. Like she had in the Green and Gold's previous title run, senior
Jeltje Loomans clinched the championship with a victory at No. 2. W&M won its fourth straight match, improving to 16-6, while Charleston closed out the year at 14-13.
The Tribe started its quest for a crown by taking the doubles point, including a third straight clinching match from the top duo of Loomans and junior
Leeza Nemchinov. The Green and Gold's No. 3 pair junior
Julia Casselbury and sophomore
Mélanie Roy started things off right with an early doubles win. The Tribe tandem jumped out to a commanding 4-1 lead and road it to an 8-3 win over Grace Baker and Sarah Jane Jones. It marked Casselbury and Roy's sixth win of the year and their third at the No. 3 spot.
At the top pairs spot, Nemchinov and Loomans jumped out to a 5-1 lead over the No. 79-ranked Charleston pair of Jenny Falcone and Katherine Schofield. The Cougar duo would not go quietly, winning three straight games to close within 5-4. W&M squashed the comeback bid, winning three of final four games to clinch the initial point of the match behind an 8-5 win. Nemchinov and Loomans won for the seventh straight time in improving to 24-4 overall and 18-3 at No. 1.
W&M roared out of the gates in singles, winning five of the six first sets and dropping just six total games in those sets. After clinching the Tribe's semifinal win over JMU, Roy pushed the lead to 2-0 with a straight-sets win at No. 4. She bounced Katherine Schofield, 6-1, 6-2, for her third win in the last four matches and second of the championship. Roy improved to 16-12 overall, including an impressive 9-3 mark at No. 4.
Dominating performances have become the norm for Nemchinov, and she continued her sensational junior campaign with a seventh straight win. She rolled to a 6-1, 6-2 triumph over Samantha Maddox, improving to 5-0 all-time in singles at the CAA Championship. Nemchinov ran her season ledger to 27-3 and 19-1 at No. 1.
The deciding match was Loomans, and she finished for the third time in the championship, improving to a perfect 8-0 in her career at the CAA Championship. The Tribe senior won four straight games to claim the first set, 6-2, from Charleston's Brooke McAmis. The Cougar player was up a break at 4-3 in the second set, before Loomans ripped off four of the final five games to clinch the championship with a court-splitting smash. The win was her fourth straight as she improved to 23-7 overall and 15-5 at No. 2.
By virtue of winning the CAA Championship, the Tribe secured the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship and will make its 20th appearance in the national tournament. The NCAA selection show is set for Tuesday, April 28, at 5 p.m., and will be streamed live on NCAA.com.
#1 William and Mary 4, #2 Charleston 0
Singles
No. 3 –
Olivia Thaler (W&M) vs. Mara Argyriou (CofC) – DNF, 6-0, 5-3
No. 4 –
Mélanie Roy (W&M) def. Katherine Schofield (CofC) – 6-1, 6-2
No. 5 –
Maria Groener (W&M) vs. Jenny Falcone (CofC) – 6-7 (5), 3-2
Finishing Order: 4, 1, 2*
Doubles
No. 1 - #62 Loomans/Nemchinov (W&M) def. #79 Falcone/Schofield (CofC) – 8-5
No. 2 – Groener/Thaler (W&M) vs. Maddox/Argyiou (CofC) – DNF, 6-6
No. 3 – Casselbury/Roy (W&M) def. Baker/Jones (CofC) – 8-3
Finishing Order: 3, 1*
