WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The William & Mary women's tennis team opens the dual-match campaign with a pair of road matches this weekend. The Green and Gold travels to Navy on Friday, Jan. 15, at 2:30 p.m., before trekking to No. 47 Penn State on Sunday, Jan. 17, at 11 a.m. With the start of the year rapidly approaching, check out the 2016 season preview below and the preview video above. The video can also be viewed by clicking HERE.

Season Preview
Sporting 23 Colonial Athletic Association Championships, including two of the last three seasons under head coach Tyler Thomson, the William & Mary women's tennis program has long been the league's standard-bearer. With a stable that includes three returning All-CAA players and the leadership thanks to a trio of seniors, the Green and Gold sets its sights on adding to the title haul as well as continuing its ascent in the national rankings during the 2016 campaign.
 
After garnering its 20th NCAA Tournament appearance last season and second in the last three years, the Tribe looks to return to its winning form in the post season. On seven occasions, W&M advanced to the round of 16 at the NCAA Championship, including back-to-back quarterfinal appearances in 1997 and 1998. The Green and Gold has totaled 21 wins in the NCAA Tournament, but its last came in 2008. The Tribe capped 2015 ranked No. 49 nationally and is up three spots to No. 46 at the beginning of 2016.
 
The Lineup
Senior Elizaveta Nemchinov headlines the Tribe group of returners and is coming off one of the best seasons in W&M history. The reigning CAA Player of the Year posted the best singles winning percentage in program annals in 2014-15, compiling a 27-4 mark. Nemchinov competed in the both the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships at the end of the season and finished 2015 ranked No. 65 nationally. She was the CAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player and garnered First Team All-CAA honors for the third straight year.
 
During the fall, Nemchinov posted a 6-2 singles ledger and enters the spring season ranked No. 91 nationally. Competing at the Rivera ITA All-American Championships, she split matches against nationally-ranked opponents. Nemchinov could become just the third multi-time CAA Player of the Year in W&M history, joining a distinguished list that includes greats Megan Moulton-Levy and Lauren Nikolaus.
 
Julia Casselbury and Jackie Lee round out the senior trio for the Green and Gold. Casselbury was a fixture in the Tribe's doubles lineup a season ago and enjoyed her best fall this season. She posted a perfect 3-0 mark at the fall-ending Kitty Harrison Invitational to close out at 4-2 in singles competition. Casselbury, who won 10 doubles matches last season, led W&M with a 5-3 doubles mark during the fall.
 
Over her Green and Gold career, Casselbury owns 19 singles wins and 22 doubles victories. She had some notable doubles wins last season, including an upset win over the No. 48-ranked team in the country from Maryland. Casselbury also helped the Tribe clinch doubles point in CAA title match vs. Charleston.
 
Sophomores Maria Groener, Olivia Thaler and Cecily Wuenscher made a significant impact as rookies last season for W&M. All three were mainstays in the lineup, providing a strong base to the Tribe lineup allowing the Green and Gold to compile a 16-7 dual-match mark.
 
Groener was an All-CAA honoree in doubles and also excelled in the classroom, earning ITA Scholar-Athlete honors. She posted a 20 singles wins during her rookie season, including a 13-7 dual-match mark. Groener tallied a number of memorable singles wins, including a three-set win in the Tribe's near upset of then-No. 2 Duke and a straight-sets victory over Penn State's Samantha Tutleman. She won four matches in both singles and doubles during the fall season.
 
Thaler burst onto the scene as a freshman, moving her way to No. 3 in the Tribe singles lineup. After posting a 19-12 ledger, she became the ninth W&M player named CAA Rookie of the Year. Thaler also earned First Team All-CAA honors and Second Team VaSID All-State distinction in singles. The Miami, Fla., native compiled a dual-match singles mark of 13-7, settling in at No. 3 singles and going 9-4 at the spot.
 
Wuenscher gave W&M a strong freshman season at the No. 6 singles position. The English lefty notched 12 singles wins in 2014-15, including eight in dual-match play. She posted victories in the Tribe's nationally-ranked triumphs at Memphis and over N.C. State. Wuenscher excelled in the classroom as well in her first year on campus, earning CAA All-Academic Team honors and the W&M Provost Award.
 
The Tribe welcomes a trio of newcomers to the fold, including two freshmen and a transfer. Marie Faure joins the Green and Gold after spending her first two seasons playing in the ACC for the University of Virginia. She posted a 41-17 singles mark in her two seasons, including a 12-2 mark in one of the top conferences in the country, the ACC. Faure advanced to the quarterfinals of the ITA Atlantic Region Singles Championship in both 2013 and 2014.
 
Freshmen Lauren Goodman and Deepa Dhore will have an opportunity to make an impact for W&M in 2016. Goodman was the top-ranked junior in the country during her prep career. A five-star recruit from the Tennis Recruiting Network, she posted a 3-1 mark during the fall despite missing time with an injury. Over the summer, Goodman showed she was ready to compete at a high level winning two ITA Summer Circuit singles titles at Purdue and Notre Dame.
 
Dhore completed at the highest level on the junior circuit, qualifying for the National Hard Court and National Clay Court Championships each of the last six years. She was a four-star, top-100 recruit according to the Tennis Recruiting Network. Like Goodman, Dhore posted a 3-1 singles ledger during the first fall season with the Tribe.
 
Doubles
With the graduation of Jeltje Loomans, one of the winningest doubles players in program history, the Tribe spent the fall searching for the right combinations. W&M will have a number of directions it can turn thanks to a bevy of quality options.
 
Nemchinov, Groener and Thaler all earned All-CAA honors in doubles competition last season. In fact, Nemchinov is a two-time First Team All-CAA honoree and finished last season, along with Loomans, ranked No. 50 nationally. Nemchinov is the Tribe's active leader with 50 doubles victories.
 
Thaler and Groener combined to go 16-9 last season, including a 14-6 dual-match mark playing primarily at the No. 2 position. The duo came up big with wins in both the CAA quarterfinals and championship to help the Tribe to the crucial doubles point. Casselbury and Wuenscher provided W&M with a strong No. 3 team toward the end of the 2015 dual-match campaign as well.  
 
All three newcomers have excelled in doubles competition. Faure posted a 25-11 doubles mark at UVA and was ranked as high as No. 75 nationally in pairs' competition. Goodman finished as the doubles runner up at 2014 USTA National Winter Championship, the 2013 USTA National Championship and the 2013 USTA National Clay Court Championship. Dhore, who represented Northern California at the National Fed Cup in 2013, possesses a big serve and the size to make an impact in the doubles lineup.
 
Schedule
A yearly occurrence, the Tribe completes against a nationally-loaded schedule. In total, 13 of W&M's 21 opponents are in the preseason national rankings. The slate includes matches with No. 17 Texas Tech, No. 23 Georgia Tech, No. 28 South Carolina, No. 31 Rice, No. 38 Houston, No. 52 Marshall, No. 57 Old Dominion, No. 58 Illinois, No. 66 Maryland, No. 68 Yale and No. 71 Wake Forest. After meeting No. 23 Georgia Tech in the first match of the ITA Kickoff Weekend, Jan. 23-24, W&M will face their No. 21 LSU or No. 34 DePaul on the second day of competition. The Tribe's schedule includes six teams that competed in the 2015 NCAA Tournament. Of those teams, five posted at least one win in the national event.
 
The Green and Gold will travel to Elon on Jan. 29 for its lone regular season CAA tilt. It will be the first meeting between the programs after the Phoenix joined the league a season ago. The Tribe will also get its first look at the facilities at Elon. After three years in Williamsburg, the CAA Championship will take place in Elon, N.C., this season at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center, April 21-24.