HOUSTON, Texas – On the strength of its singles play the William & Mary women's tennis team rallied for a comeback 5-2 win over No. 36 Princeton on Saturday afternoon at the George R. Brown Tennis Center. Sophomores Rosie Cheng and Natalia Perry picked up nationally-ranked wins at the top of the lineup, while junior Clara Tanielian and seniors Olivia Thaler and Ekaterina Stepanova tallied singles wins to help the Green and Gold knock off the Tigers. W&M (10-7) handed Princeton (12-2) its second loss of the season, joining No. 20 Kentucky as the only teams to defeat the Ivy League program. 
 
After dropping the doubles point, W&M turned it on in singles play, winning the first set at all six spots. Perry set the tone with her first career nationally-ranked win at No. 2. She pulled the Tribe even at one with a 6-3, 6-3 win over No. 123-ranked Stephanie Schrage.
 
Thaler and Tanielian increased the Tribe advantage to 3-1 with straight-set wins and their 20th singles victories of the year. Thaler topped Nathalie Rodilosso ,6-3, 7-5, at No. 6, while Tanielian won her seventh-straight match, dispatching of Nicole Kalhorn, 7-6, 6-2, at No. 3 singles.
 
Cheng clinched the Tribe's first nationally-ranked team win of the year with a three-set win at No. 1. The Tribe sophomore recorded her fourth nationally-ranked win of the year, downing No. 121 Katrine Steffensen, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, to cement the Green and Gold win.
 
Stepanova rounded out the Tribe's dominance in singles with a three-set win at No. 5. The Green and Gold senior won the opening set in a tiebreaker, before Princeton's Gaby Pollner claimed the second, 6-0. Stepanova finalized W&M's 5-2 win with a 7-5 victory in the third.
 
Notes
The Tribe won its eighth match all-time against the Tigers, pulling within 9-8 in the all-time series … W&M is 10-4 against the Ivy League under head coach Tyler Thomson, including wins in seven of its last eight since 2016 … The Tribe downed its second Ivy League foe of the year … Sophomore Natalia Perry and junior Lauren Goodman ran their doubles record to 5-1 with a win at No. 2 … Perry won her first career match against a nationally-ranked opponent at No. 2 singles … She improved to 19-12 overall, 9-6 in dual-match play and 4-3 at No. 2 …  Senior Olivia Thaler and junior Clara Tanielian became the first Tribe players to post 20 singles wins on the season … Thaler improved to 10-7 in duals and 7-4 at No. 6 singles … Tanielian won her seventh-straight match, evening her dual-match record at 8-8, while upping her record to 6-0 at No. 3  … Sophomore Rosie Cheng won her fourth nationally-ranked singles match of the year … Cheng evened her dual-match record at 8-8 and moved her ledger at No. 1 to 7-7 … She is 14-12 overall on the season … Senior Ekaterina Stepanova won her sixth dual-match of the season and improved to 2-1 at No. 5.
 
Up Next
W&M travels to Charlottesville to face its third ACC opponent of the season in No. 29-ranked Virginia on Thursday, March 29. The contest carries a 3:30 p.m. start time at the Sheridan Snyder Tennis Center. The Tribe is 1-1 against the ACC this season with a setback to No. 1 North Carolina and a victory over Boston College.
 
#50 William & Mary 5, #36 Princeton 2
Singles
No. 1 - #111 Rosie Cheng (W&M) def. #121 Katrine Steffensen (PU) – 6-1, 4-6, 6-4
No. 2 – Natalia Perry (W&M) def. #123 Stephanie Schrage (PU) – 6-3, 6-3
No. 3 – Clara Tanielian (W&M) def. Nicole Kalhorn (PU) – 7-6, 6-2
No. 4 – Clare McKee (PU) def. Lauren Goodman (W&M) – 2-6, 7-5, 6-2
No. 5 – Ekaterina Stepanova (W&M) def. Gaby Pollner (PU) – 7-6, 0-6, 7-5
No. 6 – Olivia Thaler (W&M) def. Nathalie Rodilosso (PU) – 6-3, 7-5
Finishing Order: 2, 6, 3, 1*, 4, 5
 
Doubles
No. 1 – #79 Kalhorn/Schrage (PU) def. Tanielian/Okuyama (W&M) – 7-5
No. 2 – Perry/Goodman (W&M) def. McKee/Steffensen (PU) – 6-4
No. 3 – Rodilosso/Goodwin (PU) def. Thaler/Stepanova (W&M) – 6-2
Finishing Order: 3, 2, 1*