WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Freshman Mila Saric won in three sets for the William & Mary women's tennis team on Saturday afternoon, but Wake Forest, who finished last season ranked No. 27 nationally, downed the Tribe, 6-1, in dual-match action at the Wake Forest Indoor Tennis Center.
 
How It Happened
- The Demon Deacons opened the match by taking the doubles point with wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots. M.C. Meredith and Eliza Omirou topped junior Rosie Cheng and senior Lauren Goodman, 6-2, at No. 2, while Anna Brylin and Peyton Pesavento downed freshman Mila Saric and junior Charlotte Madson, 6-1, at No. 3.
- A pair of nationally-ranked singles players pushed Wake Forest's lead to 3-0. No. 122-ranked Chandler Carter won at the No. 6 post over Madson, 6-0, 6-1, and No. 51-ranked Emma Davis defeated Cheng at the top singles position, 6-2, 6-3.
- Omirou and Saby Nihalani dropped just three games apiece at No. 3 and No. 4 singles, respectively, to cement the Wake Forest team triumph. Omirou downed senior Clara Tanielian, 6-2, 6-1, while Nihalani recorded a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Goodman.
- Junior Natalia Perry dropped a close match to a nationally-ranked foe at the No. 2 spot. She rallied back in the opening set before falling to No. 95-ranked Anna Ulyashchenko, 6-4. The players fought into a tiebreaker in the second, before the Wake Forest senior pulled out a narrow 10-8 tiebreaker win.
- Saric continued her strong singles play with a three-set win at the No. 5 post. After dropping the first set to Brylin, 7-5, the Tribe rookie responded with a tiebreaker victory in the second, 7-6 (3). In the third-set super tiebreaker, Saric outlasted the Demon Deacon freshman, 10-7. She improved to 7-6 overall and 3-1 in dual-match competition.
 
Up Next
W&M continues its road swing in North Carolina traveling to CAA counterpart Elon on Sunday, Feb. 10. The rematch of last season's league semifinal is set for a 1 p.m. start time and live stats can be found on the women's tennis schedule page.
 
Wake Forest 6, William & Mary 1
Singles
No. 1 – #51 Emma Davis (WF) def. Rosie Cheng (W&M) – 6-2, 6-3
No. 2 - #95 Anna Ulyashchenko (WF) def. Natalia Perry (W&M) – 6-4, 7-6 (8)
No. 3 – Eliza Omirou (WF) def. Clara Tanielian (W&M) – 6-2, 6-1
No. 4 – Saby Nihalani (WF) def. Lauren Goodman (W&M) – 6-1, 6-2
No. 5 – Mila Saric (W&M) def. Anna Brylin (WF) – 5-7, 7-6 (3), 1-0 (10-7)
No. 6 - #122 Chander Carter (WF) def. Charlotte Madson (W&M) – 6-0, 6-1
Finishing Order: 6, 3, 1*, 4, 2, 5
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Chander/Davis (WF) vs. Okuyama/Tanielian (W&M) – DNF, 5-3
No. 2 – Meredith/Omirou (WF) def. Cheng/Goodman (W&M) – 6-2
No. 3 – Brylin/Pesavento (WF) def. Saric/Madson (W&M) – 6-1
Finishing Order: 3, 2*