WILLIAMBURG, Va. – The William & Mary women's tennis team returns home for a pair of matches at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center this weekend. The No. 41-ranked Green and Gold faces its seventh nationally-ranked opponent in the first 11 matches when it hosts No. 57 Harvard on Saturday, Feb. 27, before welcoming in-state foes Liberty to Williamsburg on Sunday, Feb. 27. Both matches carry at 1:30 p.m. start time.
 
Scouting #41 William & Mary
The Tribe split a its matches last week in a road swing to Lubbock, Texas, and moved to 6-4 on the year. In the first computerized ITA National Rankings released on Tuesday, the Green and Gold garnered the No. 41 spot after earning a season-high ranking of No. 39 the week prior. W&M upended BYU, 4-3, on Feb. 20, thanks to a come-from-behind three-set win from senior Julia Casselbury at the No. 4 singles position. The Green and Gold captured the doubles point against the Cougars thanks to wins at No. 2 (freshman Lauren Goodman and sophomore Maria Groener) and No. 3 (Casselbury and freshman Cecily Wuenscher). Along with Casselbury's singles victory, senior Elizaveta Nemchinov won at the top spot and sophomore Olivia Thaler posted a triumph at No. 6. W&M fell at No. 8 Texas Tech, 6-1, to round out the weekend. Goodman won at the No. 3 singles spot to claim W&M's lone point against the Red Raiders and improved to 8-5 on the year.  The Tribe's contest with Harvard on Saturday will be its seventh (out of 11) against nationally-ranked competition. All four W&M losses have come to foes currently ranked in the national top 45. Included in the Green and Gold's win total is a 5-2 triumph over current No. 17-ranked South Carolina. Nemchinov, who leads the Tribe at 11-5 in singles action, was ranked No. 89 in the latest ITA National Singles Rankings released on Tuesday. Casselbury also owns double-digit singles wins with 10, including a trio of match-clinching triumphs.
 
Scouting #57 Harvard
Harvard earned its highest national ranking of the year at No. 57 in the first computerized standings of the year on Tuesday. The Crimson, which was ranked No. 72 on Feb. 10, sits at 5-4 following three-straight home victories last weekend. Harvard posted a 4-3 win over Boston University on Feb. 19, before tallying a doubleheader sweep of Maryland, 6-1, and Marist, 4-0. Earlier this season, the Crimson advanced to finals of ECAC Indoor Championship with wins over No. 43 Princeton, 4-2, and No. 53 Brown, 4-3. Harvard fell in the finals to No. 58 Columbia, 4-2. Erica Oosterhout sports a 13-6 mark and is ranked No. 111 nationally for the Crimson, playing primarily at the No. 3 and No. 4 positions. Nikki Kallenberg, who has played at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, owns a 14-6 singles record and finished the fall ranked No. 12 in the ITA Northeast Region. Annika Ringblom and Sabrina Xiong moved up to the No 1 doubles post last weekend and currently own a 4-1 mark. Ringblom and Amanda Lin finished the fall ranked No. 6 in the Northeast region.
 
Series History: W&M vs. Harvard
The Tribe leads the all-time series with the Crimson at 23-7, including an 8-1 mark in Williamsburg. The Green and Gold has won 21 of the last 22 matches between the programs. In the most recent meeting, W&M posted a 5-2 win during the 2013 campaign in Cambridge, Mass. Harvard won the last tilt in Williamsburg, 5-2, in 2012.
 
Scouting Liberty
Liberty sits at 3-5 on the season after dropping two matches at home last weekend. The Flames fell to instate foe VCU, 4-3, before dropping a 4-2 decision to No. 68 North Texas. The loss to the Big Green was one of three to nationally-ranked competition this season for LU. Liberty also dropped matches at No. 33 Syracuse and No. 69 Xavier. W&M and the Flames have one common opponent in Elon. Both teams posted 6-1 victories on the road over the Phoenix. Liberty's most recent win came on Feb. 12 against West Virginia, 4-3, in Lynchburg. Maria Khval, who was an All-Big South pick in both singles and doubles last season, holds down the No. 1 singles post, sporting a 5-3 dual-match mark. Evangeline Crist and Anna Dollar are 4-3 at No. 3 and No. 4 slots. The Flames are 15-8 during dual-match play in doubles and have won the doubles point in four of the last five matches. Crist and Valerie Thong, who were ranked No. 8 in the ITA Atlantic Region at the end of the fall, are 4-3 at No. 1 doubles, while Dollar and Khval are 6-2 at No. 2.
 
Series History: W&M vs. Liberty
Sunday will be the first meetings between W&M and Liberty.