ELON, N.C. – William & Mary women's tennis opened play at the Colonial Athletic Association Championship with a convincing 4-0 win over No. 7 seed Towson in the quarterfinals on Friday afternoon at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.
 
The Tribe (11-8) won the doubles point and received singles victories from junior Raffaela Alhach and freshmen Hedda Gurholt and Ine Stange to post its fifth-straight victory.
 
Gurholt and Stange wasted little time giving the Tribe the lead in doubles. The Norwegian pair did not drop a game in rolling to a 6-0 win over Sissi Axelsson and Olivia Rothfeld on line three. They improved to 3-0 at the spot and 4-1 overall with their third-straight victory.
 
The junior tandem of Alhach and Elisa Van Meeteren clinched the point with a win at the top spot. The duo won the final three games to top Themis Haliou and Lea Kosanovic, 6-2. It marked the Tribe pair's first win at No. 1 after their previous two matches were abandoned. Alhach and Van Meeteren are a team-best 9-5 in doubles action.
 
Alhach quickly increased the Tribe lead to 2-0 with a win at No. 3. The Tribe junior dispatched Jessica Assenmacher, 6-1, 6-3, for her 17th triumph of the year. She improved to 10-7 in dual-match play, including a 4-2 ledger on line three.
 
Gurholt brought the Tribe within a point of advancement, dropping just two games in a 6-2, 6-0 win over Amelia Lawson at No. 2. The Tribe rookie won for the 22nd time on the year and ran her mark to 12-6 at No. 2.
 
Stange provided the clincher for the third time in the last four matches and the second time against the Tigers. She won her fourth in a row, upending Axelsson, 6-3, 6-2, at No. 6. Stange upped her record to 14-8 overall and 5-1 on line six.
 
Up Next: The Tribe takes on No. 3 seed Delaware in the semifinals on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Blue Hens downed Drexel, 4-1, in the quarterfinals on Friday. Earlier this season, W&M topped UD, 4-3, at Towson.

#2 William & Mary 4, #7 Towson 0
Singles
No. 1 - #121 Mila Saric (W&M) vs. Themis Haliou (Towson) – DNF, 4-6, 1-2
No. 2 – Hedda Gurholt (W&M) def. Amelia Lawson (Towson) – 6-2, 6-0
No. 3 – Raffaela Alhach (W&M) def. Jessica Assenmacher (Towson) – 6-1, 6-3
No. 4 – Elisa Van Meeteren (W&M) vs. Sarah Pospischill (Towson) – DNF, 4-6, 0-1
No. 5 – Emma Fernald (W&M) vs. Olivia Rothfeld (Towson) – DNF, 7-6 (1), 3-0
No. 6 – Ine Stange (W&M) def. Sissi Axelsson (Towson) – 6-3, 6-2
Finishing Order: 3, 2, 6*
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Alhach/Van Meeteren (W&M) def. Haliou/Kosanovic (Towson) – 6-2
No. 2 – Fernald/Saric (W&M) vs. Assenmacher/Lawson (Towson) – DNF, 5-4
No. 3 – Gurholt/Stange (W&M) def. Axelsson/Rothfeld (Towson) – 6-0
Finishing Order: 3, 1*