CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 45 William & Mary women's tennis team hung tough with No. 18-ranked Virginia on Thursday afternoon at the Sheridan Snyder Tennis Center, but fell to the host Cavaliers, 6-1. The match came down to a quartet of three-set matches, and unfortunately, junior
Clara Tanielian won her eighth-straight match for the lone the Green and Gold (10-8) three-set win of the group.
Tanielian took the opening set at the No. 2 spot from UVA's Cassie Mercer, 6-4, before the Cavalier player rallied to take the second, 7-5. The Tribe junior downed Mercer for the second time this season, claiming the third-set super tiebreaker, 10-7. Tanielian upped her team-leading singles win total to 21 and is 9-8 in dual-match play with her third win at No. 2.
In a match-up of nationally-ranked players and a rematch of the ITA Atlantic Region third-round tilt at the top spot, sophomore
Rosie Cheng, who is ranked No. 111 nationally, rallied from a set deficit, but fell to No. 74-ranked Rosie Johanson, 6-3, 1-6, 6-2.
Senior
Ekaterina Stepanova and sophomore
Lauren Goodman forced third sets as well, but could not rallied back for wins. Stepanova dropped the opening set in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (4), to Hunter Bleser and answered with a 6-3 triumph in the second. Bleser pulled out the win by taking the third set, 6-3, at No. 6. Goodman answered a 7-5 first-set win from Chole Gullickson at No. 4 with a 6-4 win in the second. Gullickson claimed the match in a third-set super tiebreaker, 10-5.
The Tribe returns to action with its second-straight against a top-20 ACC foe, hosting No. 19 Wake Forest on Monday, April 2. The contest carries a noon start time at the
Millie West Tennis Facility, weather permitting.
#18 Virginia 6, #45 William & Mary 1
Singles
No. 1 - #74 Rosie Johanson (UVA) def. #111
Rosie Cheng (W&M) - 6-3, 1-6, 6-2
No. 2 -
Clara Tanielian (W&M) def. Cassie Mercer (UVA) – 6-4, 5-7, 10-7
No. 3 - Meghan Kelley (UVA) def.
Natalia Perry (W&M) – 7-6 (1), 6-3
No. 4 – Chole Gullickson (UVA) def.
Lauren Goodman (W&M) – 7-5, 4-6, 10-5
No. 5 – Teodora Radosavljevic (UVA) def.
Olivia Thaler (W&M) – 6-4, 6-1
No. 6 – Hunter Bleser (UVA) def.
Ekaterina Stepanova (W&M) – 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-3
Finishing Order: 5, 1, 3*, 4, 2, 6
Doubles
No. 1 - #12 Johanson/Kelley (UVA) def. Tanielian/Okuyama (W&M) - 6-1
No. 2 - Gullickson/Mercer (UVA) def. Goodman/Perry (W&M) - 6-2
No. 3 - Thaler/Stepanova (W&M) vs. Radosavljevic/Susi (UVA) - DNF, 5-2
Finishing Order: 1, 2*
