WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The line between winning and losing can be razor thin, and unfortunately on Saturday afternoon at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center, the William & Mary women's tennis team came up on the short side of that line. The final two singles tilts went to three sets, and in the end, Penn rallied for a 4-2 win over the Tribe thanks to a three-set victory at the No. 3 spot.
 
How It Happened
- Junior Natalia Perry and freshman Mila Saric gave W&M (2-7) the early lead in doubles with a win at No. 3. The Green and Gold tandem raced out to a 5-0 lead on the way to a 6-1 triumph over the Penn duo of Mimi Levine and Ashley Zhu. Perry and Saric improved to 5-2 at No. 3.
- After a Penn (6-1) victory at the No. 2 spot, sophomore Vitoria Okuyama and senior Clara Tanielian clinched the initial point of the match with a victory at the top spot. The pair rallied from an early deficit, and with Tanielian serving, ran off four-straight points in the final game to pull out a 6-4 triumph over Penn's Marta Kowalska and Marija Curnic. The Tribe duo remained undefeated in dual-match play at 3-0.
- Saric turned in an impressive effort at No. 4 singles, dropping just two games. She bounced Penn junior Ashley Zhu, 6-1, 6-1, to push her team-best dual-match mark to 5-2. Saric sits at 9-7 overall in singles action.
- Penn countered with three-straight straight-sets wins to move in front 3-2. No. 97-ranked Iuliia Bryzgalova claimed the top spot for the Quakers, while Marta Kowalska won at No. 2 to tie the match at two. Mimi Levine edged junior Charlotte Madson, 7-5, 6-4, at No. 6 to give Penn the 3-2 advantage.
- The match came down to a pair of three-set matches at No. 3 and No. 5 singles. Penn's Marija Curnic and Tanielian split the opening two sets by matching 6-3 sets. Curnic gained an early break in the third and used it to claim a 6-3 third-set victory to clinch the team triumph.
- At No. 5, senior Lauren Goodman dropped the opening set in a tiebreaker with OJ Singh but rallied for a 6-4 win in the second. Singh held a 3-2 advantage in the third set when the match was abandoned with the team results decided.
 
Up Next
The Tribe continues its homestand hosting Atlantic 10 foe George Washington on Sunday, Feb. 24. The match is slated for a 2 p.m. start from the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center. Live video will be available for the match via PlaySight at TribeAthletics.com/TennisLive, and the live stat link can be found on the women's tennis schedule page.
 
Penn 4, William & Mary 2
Singles
No. 1 – #97 Iuliia Bryzgalova (Penn) def. Rosie Cheng (W&M) – 6-4, 6-0
No. 2 – Marta Kowalska (Penn) def. Natalia Perry (W&M) – 6-4, 6-2
No. 3 – Marija Curnic (Penn) def. Clara Tanielian (W&M) – 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
No. 4 – Mila Saric (W&M) def. Ashley Zhu (Penn) – 6-1, 6-1
No. 5 – OJ Singh (Penn) vs. Lauren Goodman (W&M) – DNF, 7-6, 4-6, 3-2
No. 6 – Mimi Levine (Penn) def. Charlotte Madson (W&M) – 7-5, 6-4
Finishing Order: 4, 1, 2, 6, 3*
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Okuyama/Tanielian (W&M) def. Kowalska/Curnic (Penn) – 6-4
No. 2 – Bryzgalova/Singh (Penn) def. Goodman/Madson (W&M) – 6-2
No. 3 – Perry/Saric (W&M) def. Levine/Zhu (Penn) – 6-1
Finishing Order: 3, 2, 1*