NORFOLK, Va. – William & Mary women's tennis junior Mila Saric knocked off a national top-40 singles opponent on Saturday afternoon at the Folkes-Stevens Tennis Center. The Green and Gold (0-2) suffered a 6-1 setback at Old Dominion (3-4) in dual-match action.
 
After dropping the opening set, 6-2, at the top singles spot to No. 40-ranked Holly Hutchinson, Saric responded with a 7-5 victory in the second to force a decisive final set. With the team result already decided, the Tribe junior overwhelmed her nationally-ranked counterpart in the third-set super tiebreaker, 10-3. It marked the third ranked win in Saric's career and highest-rated foe that she has defeated.
 
The Monarchs, whose four losses came to top 25 foes or teams receiving votes for the national rankings, claimed the doubles point with wins at No. 2 and No. 3 to take a 1-0 lead. ODU posted straight-sets singles wins at No. 2, No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 to cement the team triumph.
 
On line six, sophomore Raffaela Alhach forced a third set after dropping the opener. ODU's Brooke Pilkington claimed the first set, 6-2, before Alhach responded with 6-4 triumph in the second. Pilkington outlasted the Tribe sophomore in the third set super tiebreaker, 11-9.
 
The Tribe is back in action when it travels to Liberty on Saturday, March 6, for a 1 p.m. match. The following day, W&M will host a Sunday doubleheader against Norfolk State (11 a.m.) and Towson (2 p.m.) at the Millie West Tennis Facility, weather permitting. Due to COVID-19 protocols, local and state governance and limited capacity, W&M Athletics events are not open to the general public during the spring.
 
Old Dominion 6, William & Mary 1
Singles
No. 1 – Mila Saric (W&M) def. #40 Holly Hutchinson (ODU) – 2-6, 7-5, 10-3
No. 2 – Yulia Starodubtseva (ODU) def. Jill van den Dungen (W&M) – 6-3, 6-4
No. 3 – Tatsiana Sasnouskaya (ODU) def. Lisa Fukutoku (W&M) – 6-2, 6-2
No. 4 – Alesya Yakubovich (ODU) def. Elisa Van Meeteren (W&M) – 6-4, 6-3
No. 5 – Sharar Biran (ODU) def. Alisia Manolescu (W&M) – 6-3, 6-0
No. 6 – Brooke Pilkington (ODU) def. Raffaela Alhach (W&M) – 6-2, 4-6, 11-9
 
Doubles
No. 1 – #8 Starodubtseva/Yakubovich (ODU) vs. van den Dungen/Alhach (W&M) – DNF, 5-0
No. 2 – Hutchinson/Sasnouskaya (ODU) def. Saric/Okuyama (W&M) – 6-0
No. 3 - Pilkington/Viktorovich (ODU) def. Fukutoku/Van Meeteren (W&M) – 6-1