CHARLOTTE, N.C. – In a tussle of reigning conference champions, the defending Big South Champion Winthrop rallied past the Colonial Athletic Association's top team William & Mary, 4-3, at the Lifetime Fitness Club on Sunday afternoon in Charlotte.
 
After the Eagles (1-0) jumped out to a 2-0 lead by taking the doubles point and winning at the No. 2 singles position, the Tribe (1-1) answered with three-straight singles victories from senior Lauren Goodman (No. 3), junior Charlotte Madson (No. 5) and freshman Mila Saric (No. 6) to take a 3-2 lead.
 
Winthrop pulled out the victory with three-set wins at No. 1 and No. 4 singles. In a clash of conference players of the year, No. 66-ranked Lauren Proctor rallied past junior Rosie Cheng to knot the match at three. Winthrop freshman Rafaela Santos won in three sets over sophomore Vitoria Okuyama to clinch the narrow 4-3 team win.
 
How It Happened
- In doubles, junior Natalia Perry and Saric picked up a 6-3 win over Tayla Van Eck and Ellie Burns at the No. 3 spot. Winthrop countered with wins at the No. 1 and No. 2 posts to claim the initial point of the match.
- After a Winthrop win at No. 2 singles increased the Eagle lead to 2-0, the Tribe reeled off a trio of straight-sets wins. Playing in her first dual-match of the season, Goodman topped Winthrop All-American Megan Kauffman, 6-4, 6-2, to put W&M on the board.
- Madson won her second-straight match at No. 5, pulling the Tribe even at two. She downed Van Eck, 7-5, 6-4.
- Like Madson, Saric picked up her second dual-match win of the season to give W&M a 3-2 lead. She upended Ellie Burns, 7-5, 6-4.
- At No. 1, Cheng took the opening set in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (7), from No. 66-ranked Proctor. The Eagle All-American responded with wins in the final two sets, 6-3, 6-2, to draw Winthrop even at three.
- In the decisive match at No. 4, Santos and Okuyama split the opening two sets. The Eagles freshman took the first set, 6-2, before the Tribe sophomore answered with a 6-3 win in the second. Santos cemented the Winthrop victory with a 6-1 win in the third set.
 
Notes
Junior Natalia Perry and freshman Mila Saric posted their second-straight win at No. 3 doubles and improved to 2-0 as a team … Junior Charlotte Madson picked up her 10th career singles win … She evened her season ledger at 4-4 and improved to 2-0 at No. 5 … Saric upped her season singles mark to 6-5, including a 2-0 ledger at No. 6 … Senior Lauren Goodman won her second-straight match dating back to the fall and pushed her singles mark to 5-4 this season … The Tribe played without senior Clara Tanielian, who was an All-CAA performer last season and has been a fixture at the No. 3 singles spot for the Green and Gold.
 
Up Next
- The Tribe travels to Athens, Ga., to take part in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend, Jan. 25-26. The Green and Gold will compete in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend for the ninth time in the last 11 years.
- W&M is the No. 3 seed and will face No. 2 seed Kansas State in the opening round on Friday, Jan. 25, at 10 a.m.
- The host and No. 5-ranked Georgia meets South Florida in the other first round match-up on Friday at 2 p.m.
- The consolation (10 a.m.) and finals (2 p.m.) of the regional are set for Saturday, Jan. 26, with the winner advancing to the ITA National Indoor Championship, Feb. 8-11, at the Nordstrom Tennis Center and Seattle Tennis Club in Washington.
 
Winthrop 4, William & Mary 3
Singles
No. 1 - #66 Lauren Proctor (Winthrop) def. Rosie Cheng (W&M) 6-7 (7), 6-3, 6-2
No. 2 – Alisa Soloveva (Winthrop) def. Natalia Perry (W&M) 6-3, 6-4
No. 3 – Lauren Goodman (W&M) def. Megan Kauffman (Winthrop) – 6-4, 6-2
No. 4 – Rafaela Santos (Winthrop) def. Vitoria Okuyama (W&M) – 6-2, 3-6, 6-1
No. 5 – Charlotte Madson (W&M) def. Tayla Van Eck (Winthrop) – 7-5, 6-4
No. 6 – Mila Saric (W&M) def. Ellie Burns (Winthrop) – 7-5, 6-4
Finishing Order: 2, 3, 5, 6, 1, 4*
 
Doubles
No. 1 - #22 Proctor/Kauffman (Winthrop) def. Goodman/Madson (W&M) – 6-3
No. 2 – Soloveva/Santos (Winthrop) def. Cheng/Okuyama (W&M) – 6-3
No. 3 – Perry/Saric (W&M) def. Van Eck/Burns (Winthrop) – 6-3
Finishing Order: 3, 2, 1*