WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary women's tennis team faces a pair of top-20 Atlantic Coast Conference opponents over the next week. The Green and Gold travels to No. 18-ranked Virginia on Thursday, March 29, at 3:30 p.m., before welcoming No. 19-ranked Wake Forest to the Millie West Tennis Facility, weather permitting, on Monday, April 2, at noon.
 
Scouting the Tribe
W&M, which is 10-7 on the year, registered its 18th win against a nationally-ranked opponent on Saturday, March 24, downing No. 36 Princeton, 5-2, in Houston, Texas. As a result, the Tribe moved up five spots in the national standings, earning a season-high No. 45 ranking on Tuesday. After dropping a close doubles point against Princeton, the Green and Gold won five of six singles matches, including a pair over nationally-ranked players at the top-two spots. Sophomore Natalia Perry picked up her first career nationally-ranked win, downing No. 123 Stephanie Schrage in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, at No. 2. Senior Olivia Thaler (No. 6) and junior Clara Tanielian (No. 3) both tallied their 20th singles wins of the year against the Tigers, before sophomore Rosie Cheng clinched the match with her fourth nationally-ranked win. She downed No. 121 Katrine Steffensen, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, at the top singles post. Senior Ekaterina Stepanova rounded out the Tribe's dominating singles effort with her sixth triumph of the year. Tanielian posted the Tribe's lone singles win in the setback at Rice last weekend. With her pair of wins, she ran her singles win streak to seven matches and was named the CAA Player of the Week for the second time this season. W&M owns 19 wins over Power Conference opponents, including six against the ACC, in the last six years under head coach Tyler Thomson. The Tribe is 1-1 against the ACC this season with a 4-3 win over current No. 50 Boston College. All seven of the Green and Gold's losses in 2018 have come to teams in the national top 50, including No. 1 North Carolina, No. 11 Illinois, No. 16 Kansas, No. 22 Oregon, No. 32 Kansas State, No. 38 Tennessee and No. 43 Rice.
 
Scouting Virginia
The Cavaliers are ranked No. 18 nationally and own a record of 11-4 overall with a 6-2 mark in ACC play. Virginia has won four straight entering the tilt with the Tribe, including league victories over Louisville, No. 23 Miami (Fla.), Notre Dame and Pittsburgh. UVa's ACC losses have come to teams in the top five with setbacks to No. 3 Georgia Tech and No. 4 Duke. Rosie Johanson holds down the top singles post for UVa with a 19-8 overall record and an 8-4 dual-match ledger. She is currently ranked No. 72 nationally in singles. Cassie Mercer sports an 11-9 singles mark, playing at primarily the No. 2 post, while Meghan Kelley is 17-6 overall, including a 12-3 dual-match record at the top-three positions. Johanson and Kelley are ranked No. 12 nationally in doubles. The pair is 23-6 overall and 9-4 at the No. 1 position. ­
 
Series History: W&M vs. Virginia
The Tribe trails the all-time series with the Cavaliers by a slim 21-20 margin. W&M and UVa met for nine out of 10 years between 2005-14. After the Green and Gold won seven in a row from 1994-08, the Cavaliers have won the last five. The Tribe looks for its first win in the series and in Charlottesville, since downing then-No. 48 Virginia, 7-0, in 2008. The Cavaliers hold a 5-4 advantage all-time in Charlottesville.
 
Scouting Wake Forest
Wake Forest enters the weekend at 15-5 on the year, including a 4-3 ledger in ACC play. The Demon Deacons have won seven of their last eight matches and are No. 19 in the latest national rankings. Four of the Deacs loss have come to nationally-ranked foes, including a trio of top-15 opponents in No. 2 Vanderbilt, No. 4 Duke and No. 11 Illinois. The Demon Deacons will have a trio of home matches before traveling to Williamsburg on Monday. Wake Forest hosts No. 1 North Carolina on March 29, before facing No. 23 Miami (Fla.) and North Carolina A&T for a March 31 doubleheader. Emma Davis and Eliza Omirou top the Wake Forest singles lineup, holding down the No. 1 and No. 2 spots. Davis is ranked No. 32 nationally in singles and sports a ledger a 22-9 overall with a 15-4 dual-match mark. Omirou is 17-11 on the year with a 13-5 record in duals and is ranked No. 94 nationally. Davis and Chandler Carter are the Demon Deacons top doubles team, recording a 14-1 mark. The pair is ranked No. 31 nationally and is 7-1 at No. 1 doubles.
 
Series History: W&M vs. Wake Forest
Wake Forest leads the all-time series with W&M, 22-17, but the Tribe has won seven of the last 12 meetings. Last season, the Demon Deacons topped W&M, 7-0, in Winston-Salem, N.C. The teams meet for the 19th-straight season and for the 40th time in the last 42 years. W&M holds a slim 10-9 advantage in Williamsburg.
 
Up Next
The Tribe hosts a CAA doubleheader on Saturday, April 7, at the Millie West Tennis Facility, weather permitting. The Green and Gold hosts James Madison at 11 a.m., before welcoming Towson at 4 p.m.