WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The No. 50-ranked William & Mary women's tennis team enters the 2017 Colonial Athletic Association Championship in search of its 25th league crown overall and third straight. The Green and Gold is the event's top seed for the third year in a row and faces No. 8 seed Drexel in the quarterfinals at 8:30 a.m. on Friday morning. Please note the time moved up 30 minutes from the originally released 9 a.m., start time. Click HERE to view the video preview. 
 
Elon University is the host of the 2017 CAA Championship at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center. The CAA semifinals are set for Saturday, April 22, with the championship to follow on Sunday, April 23. Both rounds are scheduled for 10 a.m. start times. The winner of the CAA Championship earns the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Admission is free for everyday of the championship. For more information, log on the Tennis Championship page on CAASports.com. Click HERE to check out league's championship preview and HERE for the live stats links.
 
Scouting the Tribe
The Tribe won four of its final five matches to finish the regular season at 11-10. The Green and Gold has been playing some of its best tennis at the end of the year, recently knocking off a pair of in-state rivals in Old Dominion and VCU. The Tribe celebrated Senior Day with a 5-2 triumph over the Monarchs on April 8, before closing out the regular season with a dominating 6-1 win at VCU on April 15. After winning the doubles point against the Rams, W&M received singles triumphs from senior Marie Faure (No. 2), freshmen Natalia Perry (No. 3) and Rosie Cheng (No. 4), sophomore Lauren Goodman (No. 5) and junior Maria Groener (No. 6). Junior Ekaterina Stepanova holds down the No. 1 position for W&M. She is 14-12 on the year with nine wins at the top spot. Faure leads the team with 20 wins, including 10 in dual-match play at the top three spots, while Perry owns 19 triumphs. Cheng has closed the year strong, winning 10 of her last 11 matches to finish at 16-9 overall and a team-best 12-4 in duals. The Tribe has claimed the doubles point in six of its last seven matches. Faure and Goodman were recently ranked No. 79 nationally in doubles and are 10-5 at No. 1. Stepanova and junior Olivia Tahler have won six straight and are 8-3 at No. 2. They were twice named the CAA Doubles Team of the Week during the season. Perry and junior Cecily Wuenscher has been strong recently at No. 3, going 6-3. The Tribe, which was ranked as high as No. 37 nationally on March 7, owns a pair of wins over current national top 50 foes in No. 44 Dartmouth and No. 49 Harvard. Of W&M's 10 losses, eight have come to national top 40 opponents in No. 11 South Carolina, No. 15 Duke, No. 27 Kansas, No. 28 N.C. State, No. 30 Wake Forest, No. 33 Notre Dame, No. 34 Tulsa and No. 37 Rice.

Dominating the CAA
W&M has a long history of dominating Colonial Athletic Association competition, and more importantly the CAA Championship. The Tribe has won 24 of the CAA's 32 all-time women's tennis championships and finished as the runner up on five other occasions. W&M won the CAA crown in three of head coach Tyler Thomson's first four seasons, including each of the last two. Since the league adopted its current, head-to-head team format for the CAA Championship in 1995, the Green and Gold is 53-7 (.883) at the event. Overall since the first season of CAA tennis in 1986, the Tribe is 130-18 (.878) against league opponents. In matches with current CAA teams, the Tribe is 74-4 (.949) all-time and 53-3 (.946) with those teams as members of the league.
 
W&M's Record in the CAA Tournament

* the CAA moved to a head-to-head team championship in 1995

Championship Rewind
Last season, W&M won its 24th CAA Championship thanks to a 4-1 victory over James Madison in the title match. The Green and Gold disposed of Hofstra, 4-0, in the quarterfinals, before topping Charleston, 4-3, in the semifinals. Marie Faure (No. 2), Lauren Goodman (No. 3), Julia Casselbury (No. 4) and Maria Groener (No. 6) each picked up a pair of singles wins during the championship to spur the Green and Gold to the crown. Olivia Thaler clinched the semifinal win with a three-set win at No. 5, while Groener capped the championship victory over JMU with a triumph at No. 6. W&M did not drop a doubles match at the event, including a perfect 2-0 mark at the No. 1 spot by Faure and Goodman.

CAA Championship Schedule
Thursday, April 20 – First Round
Match #1 – #8 Drexel def. #9 Hofstra – 4-0
 
Friday, April 21 – Quarterfinals
Match #2 – 8:30 a.m. – #1 William & Mary vs. #8 Drexel – Live Stats
Match #3 – 8:30 a.m. – #4 James Madison vs. #5 Delaware – Live Stats
Match #4 – 60 minutes after Match #2/#3 – #2 Elon vs. #7 Towson – Live Stats
Match #5 – 60 minutes after Match #2/#3 – #3 Charleston vs. #6 UNCW – Live Stats

Saturday, April 22 – Semifinals - Jimmy Powell Tennis Center
Match #6 – 10 a.m. – Winner of Match #2 vs. Winner of Match #3 – Live Stats
Match #7 – 10 a.m. – Winner of Match #4 vs. Winner of Match #5 – Live Stats

Sunday, April 23 – Championship- Jimmy Powell Tennis Center
Match #8 – 10 a.m. – Winner of Match #6 vs. Winner of Match #7 – Live Stats

Looking at the Field …

#2 Elon
Series History: W&M leads 2-0
Last Meeting: W&M won 7-0 (1/22/17)
 
The Phoenix enter the CAA Championship having won four straight and are 17-7 on the year, including an impressive 13-1 mark at home. Elon went 4-1 against the CAA this season with victories over JMU (5-2), UNCW (5-2), Towson (6-1) and Charleston (5-2). Its lone loss came at the hands of the Tribe (7-0) in January. Erica Braschi tops the Elon lineup, going 14-8 at No. 1 with 20 wins overall. Olivia Lucas is 14-6 in duals primarily at No. 2 and No. 3, while Maria Paraja has a team-best 26 wins, including a 16-6 dual-match mark. Suzanne Zenoni tallied 22 wins in singles play with a 14-8 mark at top 3 spots. In doubles Braschi and Lucas are 14-6 in duals at the second and third positions, while Natalia Janowicz and Paraja are 4-3 at No. 1.

#3 Charleston
Series History: W&M leads 8-3
Last Meeting: CofC won 4-3 (2/25/17)
 
Charleston won its final four matches of the regular season and enters the event at 18-8 on the year. During its recent stretch, the Cougars topped CAA foes James Madison (4-3) and UNCW (5-2). In total, CofC was 3-3 against league competition in 2017, topping the Tribe by a 4-3 score, while falling to Elon, Drexel and Towson. Liza Fieldsend is the Cougars top player, owning a 13-11 ledger at No. 1. She was named the Most Outstanding Player at the 2016 CAA Championship. Mara Argyriou leads CofC with a 20-5 dual-match mark and has won 15 of her last 16 matches, playing primarily at No. 2 and No. 3. In doubles, Fieldsend and Rachel McNeely own 10 dual-match wins, including eight at No. 1.
 
#4 James Madison
Series History: W&M leads 41-1
Last Meeting: W&M won 6-1 (3/19/17)
 
James Madison, which has won seven of its last nine matches, comes into the league championship after downing ODU, 4-3, to improve to 16-7 on the year. Prior to the triumph over the Monarchs, the Dukes suffered back-to-back CAA setbacks to Charleston (4-3) and Elon (5-2) after a six-match winning streak. JMU posted a 3-3 CAA ledger, including victories over Delaware (5-2), Hofstra (7-0) and Towson (7-0). Last season, the Dukes reached the championship match for the first time since 1991. Timea Guibe leads JMU with a 25-7 singles record, including an impressive 16-3 at No. 1. Emma Peterson owns 20 singles wins on the year to go with a 13-7 dual-match ledger at No. 2 and No. 3. In doubles, Guibe and Kimmy Herrock tallied nine wins at the top spot.
 
#5 Delaware
Series History: W&M leads 6-0
Last Meeting: W&M won 6-1 (3/30/17)
 
After dropping a 6-1 decision to the Tribe on March 30, the Blue Hens closed out the regular season with four-straight victories. UD is 12-6 and went 4-2 in CAA competition. During its four-match winning streak, Delaware tallied three CAA wins over Hofstra (6-1), Towson (4-3) and Drexel (4-3). The Blue Hens also topped UNCW (4-3) and dropped a 5-2 decision to JMU in league action. Brooke Pilkington holds down the top singles position for UD, going 13-3 in dual-match play and racking up the second-most single-season win total in program history with 24. Sara Komer tallied a remarkable 17-1 dual-match mark at the top two positions. In doubles, Denny LaMachia and Amanda Studnicki posted 14 wins, including an 8-5 mark at No. 1.
 
#6 UNCW
Series History: W&M leads 9-0
Last Meeting: W&M won 4-0 (4/21/13) – CAA Championship
 
UNCW won three of its final four matches to close out the regular season at 9-7 on the year. The Seahawks downed Towson (4-3), Drexel (6-1) and N.C. Central (7-0), before falling to Charleston (5-2).  As a team, the Seahawks are 56-38 (.604) in singles and 29-18 (.644) in doubles during the dual-match season. Madara Straume, a transfer from LSU, holds down the top singles spot for UNCW, going 13-3. She teamed with Sabrina Barisano to go 11-2 in dual-match play at the No. 1 and No. 2 positions.

#7 Towson
Series History: W&M leads 3-0
Last Meeting: W&M won 4-0 (4/20/07) – CAA Quarterfinals
 
The Tigers are 13-10 on the year after winning three of their final four matches. TU topped Bucknell (5-0) and Drexel (4-3), before falling to Navy (6-1). Towson closed out the regular season with a 7-0 win over Coppin State. The Tigers went 3-4 in CAA action, including a victory over Charleston (5-2). Nicole Shakhnazarova owns 15 singles wins, including 12 at the No. 1 position, while Lucy Gloninger leads Towson with 22 wins, including a team-best 16-3 dual-match record at the bottom three spots. In doubles, A.J. Gomer and Renate van Oorschodt are 12-8 at No. 1.
 
#8 Drexel
Series History: W&M leads 3-0
Last Meeting: W&M won 4-2 (4/18/14) – CAA Quarterfinals
 
Drexel started the season on a roll, winning 10 of its first 11 matches, including a seven-match win streak during the month of February. The Dragons dropped five of their final seven regular-season matches, including CAA tilts to Delaware and Towson by 4-3 scores to close out the regular season. DU knocked off Hofstra, 4-0, on Thursday to open the CAA Tournament and improved to 16-8 on the year. The Dragons went 2-3 against CAA competition in the regular season, including wins over Charleston (4-1) and Hofstra (4-0). Honami Yazawa is a team-best 16-7 in dual-match play, including 14 wins at No. 1. Lea Winkler and Kendra Bunch both won 20 singles wins on the year.