RALEIGH, N.C. - The No. 42-ranked William & Mary women's tennis team suffered a narrow 4-3 setback at N.C. State on Saturday afternoon. The balance of the contest came down a four three-set matches, and the Wolfpack (2-0) picked up three of those victories to secure the team triumph. Senior Julia Casselbury and junior Marie Faure led the way for W&M posting wins in both singles and doubles.
 
The Green and Gold (4-2) opened the match, taking the double point with victories at No. 2 and No. 3. Senior Elizaveta Nemchiniov and Faure gave W&M the early lead with their first win as a team, upending Bianca Moldovan and Claudia Wiktorin, 6-2, at the second spot. Casselbury and sophomore Cecily Wuenscher clinched the initial point of the match thanks to a 6-4 win over Amanda Rebol and Joanna Nalborksa at the third position. It was Casselbury and Wuenscher first victory this season and their third as a pair over the last two seasons.
 
With only four indoor courts at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center, the singles portion stared with the first four spots. The Wolfpack picked up a pair of wins, including a three-set triumph at No. 2, to take the lead, but the Green and Gold answered with a straight-sets win at No. 3. Faure ran her Tribe singles mark to 5-1 with a 7-6, 6-4 win over Bianca Moldovan. 

In a match-up of nationally-ranked players at the top singles post, No. 35-ranked Martina Frantova outlasted the Tribe's No. 91-ranked Elizaveta Nemchinov in three sets to put the Wolfpack on top 3-2. Frantova claimed the opening set in a tiebreaker, 7-6, before Nemchinv rolled to a 6-1 win in the second. The Wolfpack junior posted a 6-4 win in the decisive third set to snap Nemchinov's six-match win streak. 
 
Trailing 3-2, W&M needed wins at the final two singles positions to pull out its third-straight win. Things looked good early as both Casselbury and Wuenscher picked up first-set victories over Claudia Wiktorin and Amanda Rebol, respectively, at No. 5 and 6. The Wolfpack freshmen both responded with 6-2 triumphs in the second to force third sets to decide the team result.
 
Casselbury won for the seventh time in her last eight matches, pulling out a third-set tiebreaker over Wiktorin. She improved to 8-3 overall and 4-1 in dual-match play with her second-straight victory. Unfortunately for the Green and Gold, Wuenscher was forced to retire due to injury in the third, and N.C. State picked up the 4-3 triumph.
 
The Tribe opens the home portion of its schedule with a pair of nationally-ranked matches next weekend at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center. The Tribe hosts No. 28 South Carolina on Saturday, Feb. 6, at 1 p.m., before welcoming No. 64 Wake Forest to Williamsburg on Sunday, Feb. 7, at 1 p.m. FREE pizza and soda will be available to fans during the weekend matches, and t-shirt will be thrown into the stands during doubles.

N.C. State 4, #42 William & Mary 3
Singles
No. 1 - #35 Martina Frantova (N.C. State) def. #91 Elizaveta Nemchinov (W&M) – 7-6 (5), 1-6, 6-4
No. 2 – Joanna Nalborksa (N.C. State) def. Lauren Goodman (W&M) – 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
No. 3 – Marie Faure (W&M) def. Bianca Moldovan (N.C. State) – 7-6 (5), 6-4
No. 4 – Tayla Stenta (N.C. State) def. Maria Groener (W&M) – 7-6 (3), 6-2
No. 5 – Julia Casselbury (W&M) def. Claudia Wiktorin (N.C. State) – 6-4, 2-6, 7-6
No. 6 – Amanda Rebol (N.C. State) def. Cecily Wuenscher (W&M) – 4-6, 6-2, retire
Finishing Order: 4, 2, 3, 1, 6*, 5
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Goodman/Groener (W&M) vs. Frantova/Stenta (N.C. State) – DNF, 5-5
No. 2 – Faure/Nemchinov (W&M) def. Moldovan/Wiktorin (N.C. State) – 6-2
No. 3 – Casselbury/Wuenscher (W&M) def. Nalborska/Rebol (N.C. State) – 6-4
Finishing Order: 2, 3*