GREENSBORO, N.C. - The William & Mary women's tennis team continued its winning ways in the early part of the 2016 season, upending Colonial Athletic Association foe Elon, 6-1, on Friday afternoon at the Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center in Greensboro, N.C. The Tribe (4-1, 1-0 CAA) claimed the doubles point with victories top two positions, before picking up five of the six singles matches to down the Phoenix (0-3, 0-1 CAA).
 
For the second time this season, the Tribe dialed up the right combination in doubles with convincing wins at the top two positions. Freshman Lauren Goodman and sophomore Maria Groener won their third straight match, topping Kirsten Ward and Natalia Janowicz, 6-1, at the top post to give W&M the early lead. Junior Marie Faure and sophomore Cecily Wuenscher clinched the initial point of the match with a 6-1 triumph over Erica Braschi and Taylor Casey at No. 2.
 
Senior Julia Casselbury and Wuenscher wasted little time upping the Tribe lead to 3-0 with dominating wins at No. 4 and No. 6 singles, respectively. Both players dropped just one game as Casselbury bounced Janowicz, 6-1, 6-0, and Wuenscher trumped Casey, 6-0, 6-1. The victory was Casselbury's sixth in her last seven matches and she improved to 7-3 overall, including a 3-1 dual-match match mark. Wuenscher won her first dual-match tilt of the season and upped her season ledger to 4-3.
 
Groener clinched the Tribe victory, upending Ward, who was a Second Team All-CAA pick a season ago, at No. 3. Groener tallied a straight-sets win, 6-4, 6-3, to improve to 8-5 overall and 4-1 in dual-match competition.
 
Like Groener, Faure improved to 4-1 in dual-match play with a straight-sets win at the second singles slot. The Tribe junior dispatched Braschi, 6-3, 6-2.
 
At the top singles position, Goodman rounded out the Tribe victory with a three-set triumph. The Tribe rookie downed a 2015 First Team All-CAA pick in Olivia Lucas, 6-4, 4-6, 11-9. It marked the third-straight three-set match for Goodman, who won for the second time over the stretch. She pushed her season mark to 6-2, including a 3-1 ledger in dual-match competition.
 
The Tribe wraps up its season-opening six-match road trip at N.C. State on Saturday, Jan. 30. The contest carries an 11 a.m. state time. GoPack.com will have both live video and stats for the match-up. Click HERE to access the live stats and HERE to view the video streaming portal.
 
#42 William & Mary 6, Elon 1
Singles
No. 1 – Lauren Goodman (W&M) def. Olivia Lucas (Elon) – 6-4, 4-6, 11-9
No. 2 – Marie Faure (W&M) def. Erica Braschi (Elon) – 6-3, 6-2
No. 3 – Maria Groener (W&M) def. Kirsten Ward (Elon) – 6-4, 6-3
No. 4 – Julia Casselbury (W&M) def. Natalia Janowicz (Elon) – 6-1, 6-0
No. 5 – Suzanne Zenoni (Elon) def. Olivia Thaler (W&M) – 6-2, 4-6, 6-2
No. 6 – Cecily Wuenscher (W&M) def. Taylor Casey (Elon) – 6-0, 6-1
Finishing Order: 4, 6, 3*, 2, 5, 1
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Goodman/Groener (W&M) def. Ward/Janowicz (Elon) – 6-1
No. 2 – Faure/Wuenscher (W&M) def. Braschi/Casey (Elon) – 6-1
No. 3 – Lucas/Zenoni (Elon) def. Casslebury/Thaler (W&M) – 7-5
Finishing Order: 1, 2*, 3