DURHAM, N.C. – Sophomores Olivia Thaler and Maria Groener tallied singles wins to headline a strong William & Mary women's tennis effort in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, but the Tribe suffered a close 4-2 setback to No. 24-ranked Texas at the Ambler Tennis Center. Amid drizzle throughout the morning and early afternoon, the Longhorns held off a feisty Tribe push. UT took a hotly-contested doubles point, and No. 38 W&M (18-7) answered with Thaler and Groener's singles wins. Despite a standout showing from senior Elizaveta Nemchinov at the top spot against a top-10 opponent, the Green and Gold could not overcome the Longhorns (15-8).
 
In doubles, W&M jumped on the board first thanks to a dominating effort from Groener and Nemchinov at No. 2. The Green and Gold pair rolled to a 6-1 win over Texas' Neda Koprcina and Lana Groenvynck to improve to 2-1 on the year. After the Longhorns pulled even with a win at No. 3, the initial point came down to a tussle at the top spot. Facing the No. 16-ranked duo in the country, junior Marie Faure and freshman Lauren Goodman narrowed the gap to 4-3. Texas' Breaunna Addison and Danielle Wagland answered by taking the final two games of the set to claim the first point of the contest.
 
Thaler pulled W&M even with a commanding victory at the No. 5 position. Trailing early in the opening set, the Tribe sophomore surged in front and notched a 6-4 victory over Daniella Roldan in the first. Thaler, who improved to 7-3 at No. 5, continued the onslaught jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the second, before upending her Longhorn counterpart, 6-2. She pushed her season ledger to 15-12.
 
Texas answered with wins a No. 2 and No. 3 singles to move back in front, 3-1. The match at the second spot was a close one. After Texas' Neda Koprcina took the opening set, 6-1, Faure looked to force a decisive third, taking a 5-4 lead in the second. Unfortunately the ITA Texas Region Player to Watch reeled off three straight games to claim the victory and put the Longhorns on the verge of victory.
 
Groener narrowed the margin back to one, 3-2, thanks to her 10th straight win. The Tribe sophomore handled Lana Groenvynck, 6-3, 6-2, at No. 6 to improve to 18-11 overall. Groener closed out the year with 14 dual-match wins and a perfect 10-0 mark at the sixth spot.
 
Playing perhaps her best match of the season, Nemchinov gave Texas All-American Breaunna Addison all she could take at No. 1. The Tribe senior claimed a back-and-forth opening set, 6-4, over the No. 10-ranked player in the country. After falling behind by a break, Nemchinov, who is ranked No. 99 nationally in singles, rallied and pulled even at five-all in the second set, but the match was abandoned when Texas closed things out with a win at No. 4 singles. Addison entered the match with Nemchinov an impression 34-3 overall and 18-1 in dual-match play at No. 1 on the year.
 
Texas advanced to the second round of the NCAA Women's Tennis Championship where it will face No. 9 Duke, a 4-0 winnner of VCU, on Saturday, May 14, at noon. Despite the loss, W&M capped another strong campaign, winning its 24th Colonial Athletic Association Championship, spending the majority of the season in the national top 40 and capping the campaign at 18-7.
 
Nemchinov will compete in the NCAA Singles Championship for the second straight year after earning the CAA's automatic bid to the event. The opening round of the singles bracket will start on Wednesday, May 25, at 9 a.m., with one round following each day until the championship on Monday, May 30. The University of Tulsa will host the 2016 NCAA Championships at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla.

#24 Texas 4, #38 William & Mary 2
Singles
No. 1 - #99 Elizaveta Nemchinov (W&M) vs. #10 Breaunna Addison (Texas) – DNF, 6-4, 5-5
No. 2 - #122 Neda Koprcina (Texas) def. Marie Faure (W&M) – 6-1, 7-5
No. 3 – Danielle Wagland (Texas) def. Lauren Goodman (W&M) – 6-2, 6-2
No. 4 – Katie Poluta (Texas) def. Julia Casselbury (W&M) – 6-2, 6-2
No. 5 – Olivia Thaler (W&M) def. Daniella Roldan (Texas) – 6-4, 6-2
No. 6 – Maria Groener (W&M) def. Lana Groenvynck (Texas) – 6-3, 6-2
Finishing Order: 5, 2, 3, 6, 4*
 
Doubles
No. 1 - #16 Addison/Wagland (Texas) def. Faure/Goodman (W&M) – 6-3
No. 2 – Groener/Nemchinov (W&M) def. Koprcina/Groenvynck (Texas) – 6-1
No. 3 – Roldan/Poluta (Texas) def. Casselbury/Thaler (W&M) – 6-2
Finishing Order: 2, 3, 1 *