GREENSBORO, N.C. – After dropping the doubles point, William & Mary turned it on in singles, winning at the top five positions on the way to a 5-2 win over Elon in the Colonial Athletic Association opener at the Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center. Senior Lauren Goodman clinched the Tribe victory with her 60th career singles win, while senior Clara Tanielian, juniors Rosie Cheng and Natalia Perry and freshman Mila Saric claimed singles triumphs as well for the Green and Gold.

W&M continued its dominance over CAA opponents. The Tribe improved to 139-18 (.885) against league competition, including a 62-3 (.954) record against current CAA teams. The Green and Gold is 4-0 against the Phoenix.

How It Happened
- Tanielian and sophomore Vitoria Okuyama posted a 6-3 win over Elon's Maria Paraja and Alex Koniaev, which earned All-CAA Second Team honors last season, at the top doubles spot. Unfortunately, Elon (4-4, 0-1 CAA) posted wins at No. 2 and No. 3 to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
- W&M (2-5, 1-0 CAA) quickly responded in singles, winning five of the six first sets. Saric moved up a spot to the No. 4 singles position and dominated Elon's Nicole Shiau, 6-1, 6-1. It was the Tribe rookie's second-straight win as she improved to 8-6 overall and 4-1 in dual-match play.
- Cheng and Perry were not far behind, increasing the Tribe's lead to 3-1 with wins at the top two spots. The reigning CAA Player of the Year, Cheng topped Suzanne Zenoni, 6-2, 6-4, for her fifth win of the year and second at the No. 1 post. Perry dropped just four total games in a convincing 6-2, 6-2 triumph over Uma Nayar at the second spot. It marked her team-leading ninth singles win and evened her dual-match ledger at 3-3.
- Goodman picked up the clincher in straight sets at the No. 5 position. She notched her 60th career singles win, downing Koniaev, 6-3, 6-2. Goodman evened her season ledger at 7-7 and her dual-match mark at 3-3 with the victory.
- Tanielian rounded out the Tribe victory and completed a perfect day between singles and doubles with a come-from-behind three-set win at No. 3. After dropping the first set, 6-3, to Paraja, the Tribe senior bounced back with a 7-5 win in the second and took the match via a third-set super tiebreaker, 10-8. Tanielian moved to 7-5 on the year and evened her dual-match mark at 3-3.
 
Up Next
W&M continues its three-match road swing at No. 21 Virginia on Tuesday, Feb. 19. The match carries at 3 p.m. start time from the Boar's Head Sports Club.
 
William & Mary 5, Elon 2
Singles
No. 1 – Rosie Cheng (W&M) def. Suzanne Zenoni (Elon) – 6-2, 6-4
No. 2 – Natalia Perry (W&M) def. Uma Nayar (Elon) – 6-2, 6-2
No. 3 – Clara Tanielian (W&M) def. Maria Paraja (Elon) – 3-6, 7-5, 1-0 (8)
No. 4 – Mila Saric (W&M) def. Nicole Shiau (Elon) – 6-1, 6-1
No. 5 – Lauren Goodman (W&M) def. Alex Koniaev (Elon) – 6-3, 6-2
No. 6 – Olivia Archer (Elon) def. Charlotte Madson (W&M) – 0-6, 6-4, 6-2
Finishing Order: 2, 4, 1, 5*, 6, 3
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Okuyama/Tanielian (W&M) def. Koniaev/Paraja (Elon) – 6-3
No. 2 – Shiau/Nayar (Elon) def. Cheng/Goodman (W&M) – 6-4
No. 3 – Archer/Zenoni (Elon) def. Saric/Perry (W&M) – 6-3
Finishing Order: 3, 1, 2*