WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Winners of two straight, the William & Mary women's tennis team hosts a pair of matches this week against nationally-ranked Notre Dame and league foe James Madison. The Green and Gold welcomes the Irish to Williamsburg in a top-50 match-up at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, March 15, inside the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center. W&M and JMU square off in a rematch of last season's CAA Championship match at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 19, at the Millie West Tennis Facility, weather permitting.
 
Scouting William & Mary
The Tribe returns from a week hiatus having won its previous two matches over current No. 33-ranked Maryland, 4-3, and Western Michigan, 7-0, to begin the month of March. W&M is 6-7 on the season following the sweep, and six of the seven setbacks have come against teams in the national top 31. Following its victories over the Terps and Broncos, the Green and Gold moved up to No. 37 in the ITA National Rankings last week and currently sit at No. 43. The Tribe picked up four singles wins from junior Ekaterina Stepanova (No. 1), senior Marie Faure (No. 2), freshman Natalie Perry (No. 4) and freshman Rosie Cheng (No. 6) to knock off Maryland. All four players went 2-0 during the week with wins against Western Michigan to go along with triumphs from sophomore Lauren Goodman (No. 3) and junior Maria Groener (No. 5). Faure earned CAA Player of the Week honors for the second time in her career and first this season after clinching both wins over Maryland and Western Michigan. In doubles, Faure and Goodman earned their first national ranking, coming in at No. 71 in the standings released on March 7. The duo carries a four-match winning streak into the weekend, including a 6-4 upset of No. 27-ranked Hadley Berg and Paige Cline of South Carolina. They sit at 9-5 on the year and 6-2 at the top doubles position. Faure and Perry continue to lead W&M with 16 and 15 singles wins, respectively, while Stepanova is a team-best 7-5 in dual-match play, including a 5-4 mark at No. 1.
 
Scouting Notre Dame
Notre Dame, which is ranked No. 34 on March 14, picked up its ninth-straight win, sweeping Richmond, 7-0, on Monday. The Irish are 12-1 overall and 4-0 in ACC play. As part of its nine-match win streak, UND tallied back-to-back home ACC victories over Boston College, 4-3, and Syracuse, 5-2. W&M and Notre Dame have a common opponent in Western Michigan with both teams tallying 7-0 wins over the Broncos.  The Irish also own victories over Big Ten foes Illinois (4-3), Indiana (6-1), Purdue (5-2) and Michigan State (6-0), while Notre Dame's lone loss came to current No. 9 Michigan, 6-1. UND has made 21-straight NCAA postseason appearances. Senior Monica Robinson holds down the No. 1 position and owns a singles record of 15-5 overall, including a 10-1 ledger at the top spot. Junior Brooke Broda is 5-3 at No. 2 and 11-6 overall. Junior Allison Miller and freshman Zoe Spence have been strong in the middle of the single lineup. Miller is 16-5 overall and 11-2 playing at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, while Spence is 17-5 overall and 12-1 in dual-match play, moving up recently to No. 4.
 
Series History: W&M vs. Notre Dame
The Irish lead the all-time series with W&M at 10-6, but the Tribe holds a 3-2 cushion in Williamsburg. It will be Notre Dame's first trip to the Colonial Capital since 2004 when W&M downed the No. 23-ranked Irish, 4-3. UND has won the last three meetings, including a 5-2 decision in Puerto Rico in 2010. Four of the last five match-ups have been decided by 4-3 score lines.
 
Scouting James Madison
JMU enters the weekend at 9-3 on the year after winning two of its three matches in Florida last week. The Dukes downed Hampton, 7-0, and Savannah State, 4-0, while suffering a 4-3 setback at North Florida. James Madison won four straight to open the year, before dropping back-to-back contests at N.C. State, 6-1, and VCU, 5-2, who are both in the national top 50. Included in its early season win streak, JMU picked up 4-3 wins at Penn State and George Washington. The Dukes plays Marshall in Norfolk on Saturday, before facing the Tribe on Sunday. Timea Guibe owns JMU's top singles record at 15-5 overall and 7-3 in dual-match play, including a 6-1 mark at No. 1. Emma Peterson and Kimmy Herrock own 7-2 and 8-2 dual-match marks, playing primarily at No. 3 and No. 4 singles, respectively. Freshman Jona Roka has won five in a row for the Dukes and is 8-3 in duals. Guibe and Herrock have combined to win four in a row at the top doubles position. 
 
Series History: W&M vs. James Madison
W&M has dominated the all-time series with James Madison at 41-1, including a 22-1 mark in Williamsburg. The Tribe is currently riding a 29-match win streak against the Dukes, dating back to the 1984 season. The Green and Gold has eliminated the Dukes from the CAA Tournament each of the last two seasons, including a 4-1 win in last season's championship match.