WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Sophomores Rosie Cheng and Natalia Perry rallied for three-set singles wins to lead the William & Mary women's tennis team to a narrow 4-3 win over Big Ten foe Maryland on Saturday afternoon at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center. The balance of the match came down to a quartet of three-set matches at the top four positions, and the Tribe (5-3) pulled out the two it needed to cement its fourth-straight win.
 
Maryland (1-3) opened the match by taking the doubles point, before W&M responded with straight-sets wins at No. 5 and No. 6 singles. Junior Lauren Goodman pushed her personal win streak to five matches with a 6-2, 6-2 triumph over Arnellle Sullivan at No. 5. Senior Olivia Thaler gave W&M the lead, 2-1, downing Anastasiia Gevel, 6-2, 6-3, the No. 6 spot. It marked her fourth-straight victory.
 
Each of the first four positions split sets, and Perry was the first three-setter to end, extending the Green and Gold cushion to 3-1. After dropping the first set, 6-2, the Tribe sophomore rallied to take the final two, 6-3, 6-1, pushing her win streak to four.
 
Following a Terrapin win at No. 3, Cheng, fresh off her first career national ranking at No. 68 on Wednesday, clinched the Tribe win. Maryland's Ekaterina Tour took the opening set, 7-5, at the top singles post, but Cheng answered with resounding 6-1, 6-1 victories in the second and third sets to pull out the comeback win. It was her 10th singles victory of the year.
 
Notes
W&M picked up its second win against a Power Five Conference opponent in as many weeks … The Tribe owns 19 Power Five Conference wins in head coach Tyler Thomson's six seasons … The Green has won nine of its last 10 matches against the Big Ten since 2012, including eight under Thomson … The Tribe improved to 14-1 against Maryland in Williamsburg, 28-5 overall, and is 4-0 under Thomson against the Terps … Sophomore Lauren Goodman extended her win streak to five matches and improved to 12-7 on the year … Goodman is a team-best 6-2 in dual-match play and 4-0 at the No. 5 spot … Senior Olivia Thaler won her fourth in a row and extended her team-leading singles mark to 15-6 … Thaler is 3-0 at No. 6 singles and 5-3 in dual-match competition … Sophomore Natalia Perry won her fourth straight and improved to 14-9 overall and 4-2 at No. 4 singles … Sophomore Rosie Cheng won her second-straight match and upped her season ledger to 10-7 … Cheng is 3-2 at the No. 1 singles post.
 
Up Next
The Tribe hits the road to take on a pair of top-40 teams and NCAA Tournament participants from last season in Oregon and Kansas. Both matches will take place in Lawrence, Kan. The Green and Gold meets the Ducks in a neutral site match on Saturday, Feb. 17, before taking on the homestanding Jayhawks on Sunday, Feb. 18. Each tilt carries a noon start time.
 
William & Mary 4, Maryland 3
Singles
No. 1 – #68 Rosie Cheng (W&M) def. Ekaterina Tour (UMD) – 5-7, 6-1, 6-1
No. 2 – Eva Alexandrova (UMD) def. Clara Tanielian (W&M) – 7-6, 2-6, 6-3
No. 3 – Millie Stretton (UMD) def. Ekaterina Stepanova (W&M) – 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
No. 4 – Natalia Perry (W&M) def. Katsiaryna Yemelyanenka (UMD) – 2-6, 6-3, 6-1
No. 5 – Lauren Goodman (W&M def. Arnellle Sullivan (UMD) – 6-2, 6-2
No. 6 – Olivia Thaler (W&M) def. Anastasiia Gevel (UMD) – 6-2, 6-3
Finishing Order: 5, 6, 4, 3, 1*, 2
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Stretton/Alexandrova (UMD) def. Okuyama/Tanielian (W&M) – 6-3
No. 2 – Tour/Yemelyanenka (UMD) def. Cheng/Thaler (W&M) – 6-1
No. 3 – Goodman/Wuenscher (W&M) vs. Sullivan/Gevel (UMD) – DNF, 5-2
Finishing Order: 2, 1*