ELON, N.C. – The No. 50-ranked William & Mary women's tennis team used a strong singles performance to advance with the CAA Championship match thanks to a 4-1 win over James Madison on Saturday afternoon at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center. The Tribe (13-10) received a quartet of singles wins from junior Ekaterina Stepanova, senior Marie Faure, freshman Rosie Cheng and sophomore Lauren Goodman to down the Dukes (17-8). The Green and Gold has won the last two league crowns and a record 24 of the 32 all-time CAA titles. SCHEDULE NOTE: CAA Championship match between W&M and UNCW will be played at 10 a.m. on Sunday at the Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center in Greensboro, N.C., due to the forecast of inclement weather.

After JMU took a 1-0 lead by claiming the doubles point, the top of the Tribe's lineup put the No. 1 seed in front. Faure pulled W&M even, dropping just two games in claiming the No. 2 singles position. The Tribe senior topped Emma Peterson, 6-1, 6-1, for her third-straight victory. She ran her season mark to 21-13, while picking up her 11th dual-match win.
 
At No. 1, Stepanova gave W&M the lead for good with her second victory of the championship. The Tribe junior bounced Timea Guibe, 6-4, 6-1, to improve to 16-12 overall and 11-8 at the top post.
 
Goodman brought W&M to the brink of the team triumph with her fourth-straight victory at No. 5. The Tribe sophomore won for the second time in as many days, upending Dylan Owens, 6-4, 6-4, to increase the Green and Gold margin to 3-1. Goodman pushed her mark to 15-14, including 12 wins in dual-match action.
 
Cheng clinched the Tribe victory taking the No. 4 singles spot. The Tribe rookie blanked Kimmy Herrock in the opening set, 6-0, before outlasting her in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (9), to cement W&M's spot in the title match. She won for the 12th time in the last 13 matches, including each of the last three, to push her mark to 18-9.
 
JMU took the doubles point to open the match. After the Dukes won at the No. 2 spot, Faure and Goodman won their third straight to pull the Tribe even. The duo upended Guibe and Herrock, 6-2, to improve to 11-5 at the top position. James Madison pulled out the point as Petersen and Rebecca Harris outlasted Cheng and Stepanova, 6-4, at No. 3.
 
The Tribe faces No. 6 seed UNCW in the CAA Championship match at 10 a.m., on Sunday, April 23. The Seahawks upset No. 3 seed Charleston, 4-3, and No. 2 seed Elon, 4-2, to become the first six seed every to advance to the championship match. The title match will be played at the Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center in Greensboro, N.C., due to expected inclement weather. The winner earns the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. For more information, log on the Tennis Championship page on CAASports.com. Click HERE to check out league's championship page and HERE for the live stats links.
 
#50 William & Mary 4, James Madison 1
Singles
No. 1 – Ekaterina Stepanova (W&M) def. Timea Guibe (JMU) – 6-4, 6-1
No. 2 – Marie Faure (W&M) def. Emma Peterson (JMU) – 6-1, 6-1
No. 3 – Natalia Perry (W&M) vs. Jona Roka (JMU) – DNF, 7-6 (5), 2-4
No. 4 – Rosie Cheng (W&M) def. Kimmy Herrock (JMU) – 6-0, 7-6 (9)
No. 5 – Lauren Goodman (W&M) def. Dylan Owens (JMU) – 6-4, 6-4
No. 6 – Maria Groener (W&M) vs. Rebecca Harris (JMU) – DNF, 6-1, 4-6, 3-0
Finishing Order: 2, 1, 5, 4*
 
Doubles
No. 1 – #79 Faure/Goodman (W&M) def. Guibe/Herrock (JMU) – 6-2
No. 2 – Roka/Owens (JMU) def. Perry/Wuenscher (W&M) – 6-1
No. 3 – Petersen/Harris (JMU) def. Cheng/Stepanova (W&M) – 6-4
Finishing Order: 2, 1, 3*