ELON, N.C. – Sophomore Olivia Thaler pulled out a three-set win to secure the No. 36-ranked William & Mary women's tennis team's 4-3 CAA Semifinal win over the College of Charleston on Saturday afternoon. W&M (17-6) captured the doubles point with wins at the top two positions, before senior Julia Casselbury, sophomore Maria Groener and Thaler posted singles wins to advance the Tribe to the CAA Championship match for the 19th time in the 22 years of the current head-to-head conference tournament format. The defending league champion W&M is looking for its 24th CAA crown.
 
The Tribe raced out to a 1-0 lead over Charleston (16-12) with a pair of dominating performances at the top two doubles positions. Senior Elizaveta Nemchinov and Groener dropped just one game in bouncing Brooke McAmis and Helena Nyikos, 6-1, at No. 2. The win evened the Tribe pair's ledger at 1-1. Junior Marie Faure and freshman Lauren Goodman clinched the initial point of the match with a triumph at the top spot. The Tribe tandem dispatched of the First Team All-CAA duo of Mara Argyriou and Katherine Schofield, 6-2, to improve to 2-0 at No. 1.
 
After Charleston pulled even with a win at No. 2 singles, the Green and Gold answered with straight-set wins from Casselbury and Groener at No. 4 and No. 6, respectively. Groener notched her eighth straight victory to give the Green and Gold a 2-1 advantage. The Tribe sophomore downed Sarah Jane Jones, 6-3, 6-1, at No. 6 to push her season ledger to 16-11.
 
Casselbury extended the Tribe lead to 3-1 with her second win in as many days at No. 4. She upended Charleston's Mara Argyriou, 6-3, 6-4, for her eighth win at the fourth spot. Casselbury ran her season mark to 16-11.
 
With the Tribe leading 3-1, the balance of the match came down to a trio of three-set matches at No. 1, No. 3 and No. 5. Charleston pulled even with two three-set wins, but Thaler clinched the Green and Gold's berth in the championship, taking control at No. 5. After dropping the first set to Helena Nyikos, 6-4, the Tribe sophomore ripped of matching 6-3 victories in the second and third sets to pull out the win. Thaler, who tallied her third clinching triumph of the year, won for the sixth time in her last seven matches and improved to 14-12 overall.
 
The Tribe advances to the CAA Championship where it meets James Madison on Sunday afternoon. The match-up is schedule for 2 p.m., at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center. James Madison, the No. 3 seed, upset No. 2 seed and host Elon, 4-1, in the semifinals to earn its first championship match appearance. The winner of the CAA Championship earns the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
 
#1 William & Mary 4, #4 Charleston 3
Singles
No. 1 - Liza Fieldsend (CofC) def. #108 Elizaveta Nemchinov (W&M) – 1-6, 6-4, 6-3
No. 2 – Katherine Schofield (CofC) def. Marie Faure (W&M) – 6-4, 6-1
No. 3 – Brooke McAmis (CofC) def. Lauren Goodman (W&M) – 1-6, 6-4, 6-2
No. 4 – Julia Casselbury (W&M) def. Mara Argyriou (CofC) – 6-3, 6-4
No. 5 – Olivia Thaler (W&M) def. Helena Nyikos (CofC) – 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
No. 6 – Maria Groener (W&M) def. Sarah Jane Jones (CofC) – 6-3, 6-1
Finishing Order: 2, 6, 4, 1, 3, 5*
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Faure/Goodman (W&M) def. Argyriou/Schofield (CofC) – 6-2
No. 2 – Groener/Nemchinov (W&M) def. McAmis/Nyikos (CofC) – 6-1
No. 3 – Casselbury/Thaler (W&M) vs. Fieldsend/Zschunke  (CofC) – DNF, 5-4
Finishing Order: 2, 1*