WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The No. 37-ranked William & Mary women's tennis team hits the road for a pair of matches in Connecticut this weekend. The Green and Gold treks to Yale on Friday for a noon tilt, before facing No. 54 Rice in The Constitution State on Saturday. Both matches will be played at the Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center on the campus of Yale University.
 
Scouting #37 William & Mary
For the fourth-straight week, the Tribe earned a national ranking inside the top 40 at No. 37. The Green and Gold, which has been ranked as high as No. 30 this season, sits at 11-4 on the year following a 6-1 win over East Carolina. The Tribe's match with Marshall on March 20 was cancelled due to team illness. In the win over the Pirates, W&M claimed the doubles points with convincing 6-1 wins at No. 1 (Elizaveta Nemchinov and Marie Faure) and No. 2 (Maria Groener and Lauren Goodman). The victories were the third straight for both teams. Nemchinov and Faure improved to 7-4 on the year, while Goodman and Groener pushed their mark to 8-2. In singles, Faure (No. 2), Goodman (No. 3), senior Julia Casselbury (No. 4), sophomore Olivia Thaler (No. 5) and Groener (No. 6) tallied wins against ECU. With her win, Groener ran her win streak to four matches and tallied her 11th victory of the year. Thaler and Faure both recorded their 10th singles wins of the year against the Pirates, All six Tribe regulars have won 10 or more singles tilts this season, led by Nemchinov who has 14. Faure's 10-5 dual-match mark is the team best. Overall this season, the Tribe possesses five wins over nationally-ranked foes, including a 5-2 win over current No. 8-ranked South Carolina in early February.
 
Scouting Yale
The Bulldogs entered the season ranked No. 68 nationally and currently sport a 5-7 dual-match record. Yale is coming off a pair of losses during its trip to Florida, falling to South Florida, 4-1, and No. 57-ranked Florida International, 4-3. The Bulldogs have won their last five home matches and sit at 5-1 on the year in New Haven. Yale has been on a hot streak in doubles of late, winning the initial point in each of the last seven matches. They are 18-3 in doubles over that stretch. Leading the way in pairs play is Madeleine Hamilton and Tina Jiang, who have won their last seven matches at No. 1 to improve to 7-3 on the year. At No. 3 doubles, Caroline Lynch and Sherry Li are a perfect 7-0. Hamilton holds down the No. 1 singles position for the Bulldogs, while Jiang plays No. 2. Jiang ended the fall season ranked No. 15 in the ITA Northeast region and is 8-10 overall with a 3-5 ledger in dual-match play.
 
Series History: W&M vs. Yale
W&M and Yale will meet for the sixth time in the last seven years. The Tribe will make its first trip to Yale for a dual-match since 2010. It is the Green and Gold's second trip to New Haven this season after playing in the Bulldog Invitational during the fall campaign. The Bulldogs have won the last five meetings between the teams and hold a 9-6 advantage in the all-time series. Last season, Yale downed the Tribe, 4-2, in Houston.
 
Scouting #54 Rice
Rice enters the match with the Tribe at 7-6 overall and ranked 54th nationally. The Owls are on a four-match losing streak with three of those four setbacks coming by narrow 4-3 scores. They dropped their most recent match against Princeton on March 19 by a 4-3 margin. Rice, which was ranked as high as No. 28 nationally this season, owns four nationally-ranked wins in 2016, including a 4-3 win over No. 38 Texas. A pair of Owl players appears in the ITA National Singles Rankings. Katherine Ip, who sports a 20-6 overall record, is ranked No. 50 nationally. She is 8-2 at the No. 2 singles position. Lindsey Hodge, who holds down the No. 1 spot for the Owls, is ranked No. 103 nationally. She is 17-7 on the year, including seven wins at No. 1. Each of the Owls' top-two doubles team has double-digit wins on the year. Alison Ho and Hodge, who have primarily appeared at No. 1 with three wins, are 10-7 overall, while Ip and Emily Smith own 10-2 record, including a 6-2 dual-match ledger at the top-two positions.
 
Series History: W&M vs. Rice
The Tribe and Rice have each won three matches in the all-time series, trading three-match win streaks. The Owls have won the last three meetings. Friday will mark the fourth straight season the teams have met. Last season, Rice downed the Tribe, 5-2, in Houston.