WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The William & Mary women's tennis team enters the 2019 Colonial Athletic Association Championship in search of its 27th league crown overall and fifth straight. The Green and Gold is the event's top seed for the fifth year in a row and 17th time in the last 22 years. W&M faces No. 8 seed UNCW in the quarterfinals at 9 a.m. on Thursday morning at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.
 
Elon University is the host of the 2019 CAA Championship at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center. The CAA semifinals are set for Friday, April 19, with the championship to follow on Saturday, April 20. Both rounds are scheduled for 10 a.m. start times at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center. The winner of the CAA Championship earns the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Admission is free for everyday of the championship. For more information, log on the Tennis Championship page on CAASports.com. Click HERE to check out league's championship preview and HERE for the live stats links.
 
Scouting the Tribe
- The Tribe faces UNCW, which won the 2014 CAA Championship, in the quarterfinals, marking the sixth time the teams have met in the CAA Tournament. W&M is 10-0 all-time against the Seahawks, including a 4-2 win in the CAA Championship match in 2017.
- W&M was 3-0 against league competition this season with wins over Elon (5-2), Delaware (7-0) and James Madison (4-3). In fact, the Tribe has won 13-straight matches against CAA opponents, dating back to the 2017 season. The Tribe has not lost a match in the CAA Tournament since 2014.
- The Tribe once again played a loaded schedule in 2019 with five of its losses coming to national top-50 teams in No. 22 Wake Forest, No. 23 Virginia, No. 32 Old Dominion, No. 34 Princeton and No. 41 Rice. Another four teams (Virginia Tech, Kansas State, South Florida and VCU) spent time in the national top 50.
- In total, W&M played six major conference opponents, including a trio of ACC foes, in 2019.
- On three occasions this season, the Tribe has swept the CAA weekly award and owns a total of eight accolades (four singles and four doubles). Freshman Mila Saric was named the CAA Player of the Week on two occasions (Feb. 13 and March 6), while juniors Rosie Cheng (April 2) and Natalia Perry (March 13) each claimed one award. In doubles, Perry and Saric tallied two weekly honors (Jan. 30 and March 13), while senior Clara Tanielian and sophomore Vitoria Okuyama took home the award on Feb. 27, and senior Lauren Goodman and junior Charlotte Madson garnered the distinction on April 2.
- W&M has captured the doubles point in 12 of its 20 matches.
- Saric leads the time with a 16-11 singles record, including a 12-6 dual-match match, playing as high as No. 3 in the lineup. She also posted a team-best 13 doubles wins.
- In doubles, Tanielian and Okuyama, who were ranked No. 82 nationally last week, are 8-3 on the year with seven of those wins at the top spot.
- Saric and Perry are 10-6 in doubles action at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, while Goodman and Madson posted a 6-3 record at No. 3 doubles.
 
Dominating the CAA
W&M has a long history of dominating CAA competition, and more importantly the CAA Championship. The Tribe has won 26 of the CAA's 34 all-time women's tennis championships and finished as the runner up on five other occasions. W&M has won the CAA crown in each of the last four seasons, and the Tribe's senior trio of Lauren Goodman, Deepa Dhore and Clara Tanielian is trying to become the second-straight graduating class to win league championships in each of its four seasons on campus. Since the league adopted its current, head-to-head team format for the CAA Championship in 1995, the Green and Gold is 59-7 (.894) at the event. Overall since the first season of CAA tennis, the Tribe is 141-18 (.887) all-time versus league opponents. In matches with current CAA teams, the Tribe is 85-4 (.955) all-time and 64-3 (.955) with those teams as members of the league.
 
W&M's Record in the CAA Tournament

* the CAA moved to a head-to-head team championship in 1995

Championship Rewind
Last season, W&M won its 26th CAA Championship thanks to a 4-0 victory over James Madison in the finals. The Green and Gold topped Towson, 4-0, in the quarterfinals, before upending Elon, 4-2, in the semifinals. Olivia Thaler went 3-0 in singles, while Rosie Cheng, Natalia Perry and Clara Tanielian went 2-0. Perry clinched the Tribe's title match win over the Dukes with a victory at the No. 2 position. W&M captured the doubles point against both Towson and JMU thanks to wins by Cheng and Thaler at No. 2 and Tanielian and Charlotte Madson at No. 3. Cheng was named the Most Outstanding Performer of the CAA Championship. Here is a look at how current Tribe players have fared in the CAA Championship during their careers:
 

CAA Championship Schedule
Wednsday, April 17 – First Round - Jimmy Powell Tennis Center
Match #1 - 10 a.m. - #8 W&M def. #9 Hofstra, 4-2
 
Thursday, April 18 - Quarterfinals - Jimmy Powell Tennis Center
Match #2 – 9 a.m. - #1 W&M vs. #8 UNCW - Live Stats
Match #3 – 9 a.m. - #4 Elon vs. #5 Drexel - Live Stats
Match #4 – 1 p.m. - #3 Charleston vs. #6 Delaware - Live Stats
Match #5 – 1 p.m. - #2 James Madison vs. #7 Towson - Live Stats

Friday, April 19 - Semifinals- Jimmy Powell Tennis Center
Match #6 – 10 a.m. - Winner of Match #2 vs. Winner of Match #3 - Live Stats
Match #7 – 10 a.m. - Winner of Match #4 vs. Winner of Match #5 - Live Stats

Saturday, April 20 - Championship- Jimmy Powell Tennis Center
Match #8 – 10 a.m. - Winner of Match #6 vs. Winner of Match #7 - Live Stats
 
Looking at the Field …
 
Scouting No. 2 James Madison
Series History – W&M leads 46-1
Last Meeting – W&M won 4-3 at JMU (4/7/19)
 
- The Dukes are the No. 2 seed in the CAA Tournament for the second-straight year. JMU finished the regular season at 11-8.
- James Madison went 3-1 in CAA play with wins over Towson (7-0), Elon (4-3) and Charleston (4-3) to go along with a loss to W&M (4-3).
- Freshman Daria Afanasyeva holds down the top singles spot for JMU, tallying a 9-9 mark at No. 1.
- Seniors Emma Peterson and Abby Amos lead the Dukes with singles records of 21-9 and 20-13, respectively. Petersen is 14-4 at the No. 5 position, while Amos went 11-8 on line two.
- Freshmen Daniela Voloh and Amanda Nord turned in strong rookie campaigns. Voloh owns a 19-11 record, including a 9-6 mark at No. 3, while Nord posted a 17-2 ledger with a 10-2 record at No. 6.
- The Dukes have claimed the doubles point in just eight of their 19 matches. Amos and Voloh comprise JMU's top doubles team and the duo is 11-11 on the year with six wins at No. 1.
 
Scouting No. 3 Charleston
Series History – W&M leads 8-3
Last Meeting – CofC won 4-3 at CofC (2/25/17)
 
- Charleston enters the CAA Tournament at 14-10 on the year.
- The Cougars posted a 3-1 record in CAA play with wins over Elon (4-3), Drexel (5-2) and UNCW (6-1). CofC's league loss came to JMU (4-3).
- Senior Christi Woodson leads the Cougar with a 16-6 record at the No. 1 singles position.
- In doubles, Woodson and junior Anastasia Palaska are ranked No. 86 nationally. The pair is 14-6 at the top position.
 
Scouting No. 4 Elon
Series History – W&M leads 4-0
Last Meeting – W&M won 5-2 at Elon (2/10/19)
 
- Elon is 12-11 on the year following a 4-3 win over George Washington to close out the regular season.
- The Phoenix went 1-3 in CAA play with losses to the top three seeds in W&M (5-2), JMU (4-3) and Charleston (4-3). Elon downed UNCW, 6-1, for its lone CAA win.
- Freshman Olivia Archer leads Elon with a 15-4 singles mark, playing as high as No. 3 in the lineup.
- Senior Maria Paraja owns a 13-7 dual-match singles ledger, including an 11-3 mark at No. 2.
- Elon captured the doubles point in 12 of its 23 matches. Junior Alex Koniaev and Paraja, who earned Second Team All-CAA honors last season, are 8-7 at No. 1 doubles.
- Freshmen Uma Nayar and Nicole Shiau own an 11-4 mark at No. 2 doubles, while Archer and senior Suzanne Zenoni are 9-5 on line three.
 
Scouting No. 5 Drexel
Series History – W&M leads 4-0
Last Meeting – W&M won 4-0 in the 2017 CAA Quarterfinals (4/21/17)
 
- The Dragons are 10-10 on the year, including a 2-3 CAA mark.
- Drexel owns CAA wins over Hofstra (6-1) and Delaware (6-1) to go with losses to Charleston (5-2), UNCW (4-3) and Towson (4-3).
- Sophomore Salma Ziout leads the Dragons with a 20-8 singles record, including an 11-5 mark at No. 1.
- Freshman Cristina Corte Gonalez and junior Ghita Benhadi lead the way in doubles for Drexel, going 7-5 overall and 4-4 at the top spot.
- Sophomore Marta Martinez and junior Katarina Majorova own an 8-7 mark at the No. 3 position.
 
Scouting No. 6 Delaware
Series History – W&M leads 7-0
Last Meeting – W&M won 7-0 at W&M (3/16/19)
 
- The Blue Hens are 11-10 on the year, including a 1-2 CAA mark. UD won eight of its final nine regular-season matches.
- Delaware topped Towson (4-3) in league play to go to go along with setbacks to W&M (7-0) and Drexel (6-1).
- Sophomore Sarah Whited and freshman Caragh Courtney lead the Blue Hens with 17 singles wins. Courtney also tops UD with 11 dual-match victories all at the top three positions.
- UD won the doubles point in nine of its 21 matches. The freshman duo of Courtney and Emily Gotkiewicz leads the Blue Hens with a 7-2 mark at No. 2 doubles.
 
Scouting No. 7 Towson
Series History – W&M leads 5-0
Last Meeting – W&M won 4-0 in 2018 CAA Quarterfinals (4/20/18)
 
- The Tigers have been on a roll of late winning 10 of their final 12 matches to close out the regular season at 13-12 on the year.
- Towson is 3-2 in CAA play with losses to James Madison (7-0) and Delaware (4-3). The Tigers defeated Drexel (4-3), UNCW (4-3) and Hofstra (5-2).
- Sophomore Alexa Martinez and Senior Jane Shusterman both own 10 singles wins on the year. Martinez tallied six victories at No. 1, while Shusterman recorded seven at No. 2.  Freshman Phoebe Collins leads the Tigers with 15 singles wins.
- In doubles, Martinez and Shusterman own a 10-11 ledger at the No. 1 position.  
 
Scouting No. 8 UNCW
Series History – W&M leads 10-0
Last Meeting – W&M won 4-2 in the 2017 CAA Championship (4/23/17)
 
- The Seahawks sit at 9-11 on the year after a 4-2 win over Hofstra in the CAA First Round on Wednesday.
- UNCW went 2-3 in CAA play during the regular season with wins over Hofstra (6-1) and Drexel (4-3) to go along with losses to Charleston, Elon (6-1) and Towson (4-3).
- Senior Sabrina Barisano leads UNCW with an 11-5 dual-match record playing as high as No. 1 in the lineup.
- Sophomores Maddy Muller-Hughes and Rachel Marthinsen both own 10 dual-match wins. Muller-Hughes has done most of her damage at No. 1, going 7-7, while Marthinsen is 8-3 on line six.
- UNCW won the doubles point in nine of its 19 matches, including four of the last five. Barisano and Muller-Hughes lead the way at doubles at 14-4 at No. 1, while Sophomores Lea Dubois-Rebiere and Rachel Marthinsen went 7-6 at No. 3.