GREENSBORO, N.C. – Junior Charlotte Madson cemented the William & Mary women's tennis team's passage into the Colonial Athletic Association Championship match with her singles victory on Friday afternoon at the Piedmont Indoor Tennis Center. Elon rallied to tie the contest at three, but Madson came up clutch to clinch the 4-3 victory and W&M's fifth-straight appearance in the CAA title tilt.
 
The Tribe (9-13) used the same formula in its semifinal win as it had in the previous round on Thursday. The Green and Gold captured the doubles point without dropping a match and received straight-sets singles victories from junior Rosie Cheng at No. 1 and freshman Mila Saric at No. 4 to reach the brink of the team triumph.
 
With the match moved indoors to start the day due to serve weather, the semifinals were limited to four courts each. Along with Cheng and Saric's victories, the Phoenix (13-12) posted wins at No. 2 and No. 3 to close the gap to 3-2.
 
The balance of the semifinal and a ticket Saturday's championship came down to singles matches at No. 5 and No. 6. Elon's Alex Koniaev notched a tiebreaker win in the second set on line five to pull the Phoenix even at three and set the stage for Madson.
 
After winning the opening set, 6-2, Madson outlasted Elon's Nicole Shiau in a second-set tiebreaker, 7-6 (5), to send the Tribe into a celebration. The Green and Gold junior won for the eighth time her last 10 matches and the second-straight day at the CAA Championship.
 
How It Happened
- The Green and Gold won at the No. 1 and No. 3 doubles posts to claim the initial point of the match for the fifth time in the last six contests and 13th time overall this season.
- Senior Lauren Goodman and Madson won for the fifth time in the last six matches at No. 3 to give W&M the early lead. The pair bounced Suzanne Zenoni and Olivia Archer, 6-2, for its 10th win of the year. Goodman and Madson improved to 8-3 on line three.
- At the top spot, senior Clara Tanielian and sophomore Vitoria Okuyama clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 victory over Alex Koniaev and Maria Paraja. Tanielian and Okuyama ran their season ledger to 9-3 with an eighth victory at No. 1.
- Playing indoors, singles started with the first four spots on the court. Freshman Mila Saric quickly increased the Tribe margin to 2-0 dropping just three total games at the No. 4 spot. The Tribe rookie rolled to a 6-2, 6-1 win over Uma Nayar for her third-straight victory and fifth in the last six matches. Saric leads W&M with an 18-11 overall record, including a 14-6 mark in dual-match play.
- After an Elon win at No. 2, junior Rosie Cheng pushed the Green and Gold advantage to 3-1 with a victory on line one. She topped Suzanne Zenoni, 6-2, 6-4, to improve to 7-0 in her career in the CAA Championship. Cheng claimed her 10th win overall this season and fifth at No. 1.
- Elon pulled even at three thanks to Koniaev's victory at No. 5, but Madson came through to give the Green and Gold the victory. After claiming the first set, 6-2, Madson led 5-3 in the second but Shiau rallied with three-straight games. The Tribe junior forced a tiebreaker, and leading 6-5, she served out a victory to send W&M to the finals. Madson improved to 14-12 on the year and 12-8 in dual-match play.
 
Up Next
- The Tribe continues the chase for its fifth-straight CAA Championship and 27th overall in the league finals on Saturday against No. 2 seed James Madison, a 4-1 winner over Charleston on Friday.
- The match carries a 10 a.m. start time from the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center in Elon, N.C.
- Saturday will be a rematch of last season's CAA Championship match. It marks the fifth-straight CAA Tournament that the Tribe and Dukes have met and the third time in the last four years in the championship match.
- W&M downed the Dukes, 4-3, at JMU earlier this season.
- Live stats are available at CAASports.com.
 
#1 William & Mary 3, #4 Elon 3
Singles
No. 1 – Rosie Cheng (W&M) def. Suzanne Zenoni (Elon) – 6-2, 6-4
No. 2 – Maria Paraja (Elon) def. Natalia Perry (W&M) – 6-4, 6-3
No. 3 – Olivia Archer (Elon) def. Clara Tanielian (W&M) – 6-3, 6-2  
No. 4 – Mila Saric (W&M) def. Uma Nayar (Elon) – 6-2, 6-1
No. 5 – Alex Koniaev (Elon) def. Lauren Goodman (W&M) – 6-4, 7-6 (2)
No. 6 – Charlotte Madson (W&M) def. Nicole Shiau (Elon) – 6-2, 7-6 (5)
Finishing Order: 4, 2, 1, 3, 5, 6*
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Okuyama/Tanielian (W&M) def. Koniaev/Paraja (Elon) – 6-4
No. 2 – Saric/Cheng (W&M) vs. Nayar/Shiau (Elon) – DNF, 4-5
No. 3 – Goodman/Madson (W&M) def. Zenoni/Archer (Elon) – 6-2
Finishing Order: 3, 1