WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - Championships are synonymous with William & Mary women's tennis. While the calendar has changed to 2017, the pedigree remains the same as the Tribe sets its sights on a 25th Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championship and a continued ascension in the national standings.
 
The Green and Gold claimed its third league crown in four season under head coach Tyler Thomson and finished among the national top 50 for third time. In fact, the Tribe has been ranked among the top 30 in the country during three of the last four campaigns. Last season, W&M closed out the year with its highest ranking (No. 39) since 2008 and its most victories (18) since 2007. Over the last four years, the Tribe has excelled against top competition, posting 16 wins over nationally-ranked competition, including a 6-4 in 2016. The Tribe knocked off eventually No. 17 South Carolina, who went on to go 9-4 in the SEC and host an NCAA Regional, in February of 2016.
 
While W&M graduated a two-time CAA Player of the Year and a senior class that won three CAA titles, the cupboard is far from bare. The Tribe welcomes back four mainstays from the 2016 lineup in senior Marie Faure, juniors Olivia Thaler and Maria Groener and sophomore Lauren Goodman. All four have garnered All-CAA honors during their Green and Gold careers. Couple the returning standouts with a freshman class (Rosie Cheng, Charlotte Madson and Natalia Perry) ranked in the national top 25 and a transfer, who was ranked in the ITA top 100 last season (Ekaterina Stepanova), the Tribe's prospects are firmly on the rise.
 
Among its 20 dual matches during the spring, the Tribe faces nine NCAA Tournament teams from last season and 12 programs that finished 2016 in the national rankings. Combined W&M's dual-match opponents won nearly 60 percent of its matches and averaged 15 wins last season. The Green and Gold opens the year with home matches against Richmond (Jan. 21) and Elon (Jan. 22) this weekend. The home slate is highlighted by nationally-ranked match-ups with No. 33 Kansas (Feb. 5), No. 34 Rice (April 1), No. 44 Notre Dame (March 15), No. 45 Dartmouth (Feb. 18) and No. 67 Old Dominion (April 8).
 


- Tied for the team lead with five doubles wins during the fall and won a pair of matches with Maria Groener to advance to the semifinals of Flight B at the Cissie Leary Invitational
- Closed out the fall with two-straight singles wins at the Kitty Harrison Invitational, knocking of opponents from Virginia and Texas Tech
- As a junior, ranked a high as No. 166 in the World ITF Junior Combined Rankings and tallied a 66-37 ITF singles record and a 40-34 doubles mark
 


- Compiled a 5-2 singles ledger, including a 2-1 mark at No. 6, during her rookie campaign in 2015-16
- A four-star recruit by the Tennis Recruiting Network and was ranked as high as No. 69 nationally according to the Web site in 2012
- In juniors, qualified to compete at the National Hard Court and National Clay Court Championships in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015
 


- Lead the Tribe with a 10-4 singles mark during the fall, including six-straight wins to claim the ITA Atlantic Region Singles Championship
- After transferring to W&M for the 2016 spring season from Virginia, Garnered First Team All-CAA and First Team VaSID All-State honors last season in both singles and doubles
- Playing at the top of the Tribe lineup, finished last season at 16-8 in singles and wrapped up the year ranked No. 9 in the ITA Atlantic Region to go along with a season-high national-ranked of No. 91
 


- The Reigning CAA Rookie of the Year and garnered Second Team All-CAA honors in singles and doubles as well as Second Team VaSID All-State singles accolades
- Tallied an 18-8 singles mark, including an upset win over No. 71-ranked and eventual NCAA Singles Championship participant, Caroline Dailey in W&M's upset of No. 17 South Carolina
- Along with Marie Faure, competed in the ITA All-American Doubles Championship, advancing to the round of 16 with an upset win the No. 18-ranked team from TCU
 


- Garnered Second All-CAA honors in doubles each of her first two seasons and owns a 37-24 career doubles record
- A fixture in the Tribe's singles lineup during her career, won 10 straight singles matches to end last season, including a victory against Texas in the NCAA Tournament
- A two-time ITA Scholar-Athlete selection, she led the Tribe with four match-clinching victories last season, including the capper against JMU to give the Green and Gold its 24th CAA title
 


- Tallied her first career singles win at the Kitty Harrison Invitational to close out the fall season, downing Davidson's Ally Sexton
- Teamed with three different partners (Natalia Perry, Maria Groener and Rosie Cheng) in going a perfect 3-0 in doubles at the fall-opening Tribe Invitational
- A four-star recruit by the Tennis Recruiting Network, who was ranked as high as No. 121 nationally, she won a bronze medal at the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) State Championship in both 2014 and 2015
 


- Tied for the team lead with 10 singles wins during the fall season, including advancing to the finals in Flight B at the Cissie Leary Invitational
- Picked up a pair of wins in the qualifying draw to earn a spot in the ITA Atlantic Region Singles Championship main draw
- As a junior, ranked as high as No. 54 nationally by the Tennis Recruiting Network in 2014
 


- Transferred to W&M from Wisconsin at the beginning of the fall season and was ranked No. 70 nationally by the ITA in September
- Won three matches during the fall season and advanced to the round of 16 at the ITA Atlantic Region Singles Championship
- Tallied a singles mark of 35-19 in her two seasons at Wisconsin, including a 14-9 mark in Big Ten play, and finished last season ranked No. 98 nationally
 


- Named the CAA Rookie of the Year in 2015 along with garnering All-CAA honors in both singles and doubles
- A two-time W&M Provost Award winner and ITA Scholar-Athlete pick, she picked up an important come-from-behind three-set win against Charleston in the CAA Semifinals and wrapped up the season with a victory in the NCAA Tournament against Texas
- Started the fall season strong as one of only two players at the Tribe Invite to go a perfect 3-0 in both singles and doubles
 


- Owns 17 career singles wins, including nine in dual-match competition, and 11 career doubles victories
- Four of her five dual-match doubles wins in 2016 helped the Tribe clinch the doubles point, including key triumphs in match-ups with BYU, No.  57 Harvard and No. 65 Illinois
- Excels in the classroom, earning W&M Provost Awards during each of her first two seasons and ITA Scholar-Athlete and CAA All-Academic Team honors in 2015