ELON, N.C. – The quest for a 26th Colonial Athletic Association Championship and fourth in a row continued for the William & Mary women's tennis on Saturday afternoon behind a 4-2 win over No. 4 seed and host Elon in the tournament semifinals at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center. Seniors Olivia Thaler and Ekaterina Stepanova and sophomore Rosie Cheng notched straight-set wins to put the Tribe (16-9) on top in singles play, before junior Clara Tanielian clinched W&M's spot in the final for the 21st time in 24 years with a three-set win at No. 3.
 
After the Phoenix (14-13) captured the doubles point behind a pair of tiebreaker wins, the Tribe responded by taking the first set at five of the six singles positions. Thaler pulled the Green and Gold even with her third-straight win and her team-leading 26th of the year. The Tribe senior topped Kirsten Ward, 6-3, 6-2, at No. 6.
 
The host countered with a straight-sets win at No. 4 to regain the advantage, before the Tribe surged in front with wins at No. 1 and No. 5. Stepanova won her fifth-straight match on line five to pull the Tribe even at two. She dispatched of Alex Koniaev, 6-3, 6-4, for her 12th win of the year.
 
Cheng won at the top spot for the second-straight day to give W&M a 3-2 lead. After outlasting Olivia Lucas in a first-set tiebreaker, 7-6 (4), the Tribe sophomore pulled out a 6-2 triumph in the second for her 18th win of the season.
 
The match came down to a pair of three-set tilts at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions. Sophomore Natalia Perry (No. 2) and junior Clara Tanielian (No. 3) both jumped out to set advantages, only to have Erica Braschi and Suzanne Zenoni rallied for the Phoenix to force decisive third sets.
 
After Tanielian took the opening set, 6-3, on line three, Zenoni answered with a 6-2 win in the second. Tied at four in the third set, the Tribe junior won the final two games to provide the clincher with a 6-4 third-set triumph. It was Tanielian's 24th win this season as she improved to 7-1 on line three. Perry led Braschi, 5-3, in the third set at No. 2 when the match was abandoned with the team results decided.
 
Notes
The Tribe advanced to the championship match for the 21st time in the 24 years of the current CAA Tournament format … W&M improved to 21-2 all-time in the league semifinals and 58-7 in the CAA Tournament since 1995 … The Green and Gold moved to 3-0 all-time vs. Elon … Senior Olivia Thaler won her 70th career singles match and pushed her season total to a team-best 26 … She won her third straight and leads the team at 16-9 in dual-match play, including a 12-5 mark at No. 6 … Sophomore Rosie Cheng won her third match in a row and upped her overall record to 18-15 … She improved to 12-11 in dual-match play with her 11th win at No. 1 … Senior Ekaterina Stepanova won her sixth-straight match at the No. 5 position … Stepanova notched win No. 12 on the year, while pushing her mark at No. 5 to 7-1 … Junior Clara Tanielian extended her record to 7-1 at No. 3 with the clinching win, her second of the year … Tanielian pushed her singles ledger to 24-13 and 12-11 in dual-match play.
 
Up Next
The Tribe faces the No. 2 seed James Madison in the CAA Championship match on Sunday, April 23, at 2 p.m. The Dukes advanced to the title match with a 4-1 win over No. 6 seed Charleston on Saturday afternoon. The Green and Gold have won 32 straight against the Dukes and leads the all-time series at 43-1. W&M has eliminated JMU from the last three CAA Championships, and the teams meet in the title match for the second time in the last four years. The 2018 CAA Championships are being hosted by Elon University at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center in North Carolina.
 
#1 William & Mary 4, #4 Elon 2
Singles
No. 1 – Rosie Cheng (W&M) def. Olivia Lucas (Elon) – 7-6 (4), 6-2
No. 2 – Natalia Perry (W&M) vs. Erica Braschi (Elon) – DNF, 6-3, 1-6, 5-3
No. 3 – Clara Tanielian (W&M) def. Suzanne Zenoni (Elon) – 6-3, 2-6, 6-4
No. 4 – Maria Paraja (Elon) def. Lauren Goodman (W&M) – 6-2, 6-3
No. 5 – Ekaterina Stepanova (W&M) def. Alex Koniaev (Elon) – 6-3, 6-4
No. 6 – Olivia Thaler (W&M) def. Kirsten Ward (Elon) – 6-3, 6-2
Finishing Order: 6, 4, 5, 1, 3*
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Goodman/Perry (W&M) vs. Paraja/Koniaev (Elon) – DNF, 6-6 (5-3)
No. 2 – Cheng/Thaler (W&M) def. Lucas/Braschi (Elon) – 7-6 (2)
No. 3 – Madson/Tanielian (W&M) def. Zenoni/Ward (Elon) – 7-6 (6)
Finishing Order: 2, 3*