ELON, N.C. – With a berth in the Colonial Athletic Association Championship on the line, the William & Mary women's tennis needed to look no further than reigning player of the year and nationally-ranked all-everything Mila Saric to close the door. Tied at three all, Saric won in three sets at the top singles spot to send the Tribe (12-8) to the title match for the sixth-straight tournament.
 
Saric won the opening set from Delaware's Eliza Askarova, 6-4, before the Blue Hen junior rallied to take the second set, 6-4. Askarova led 3-2 in the final set before Saric ripped off three-straight games to take a 5-3 advantage. Askarova pulled even at five, but Saric clinched the Tribe victory, winning two-straight games to take the set, 7-5.
 
Saric, who is ranked No. 121 nationally, won in three sets for the sixth time in her last eight matches. It was her seventh win in a row as she improved to 25-5 on the year and 15-3 at No. 1.
 
Delaware (19-6), who was playing in the semifinals for the first time since 2013, took the early lead by winning the doubles point and picking up a singles victory at No. 4.
 
W&M, which won its sixth straight, quickly rallied behind victories at the same three singles positions as the quarterfinals to take a 3-2 lead. Freshman Hedda Gurholt upended Alina Vasilenko, 6-1, 6-4, on line two to get the Tribe on the board and pick up her 23rd win of the season.
 
At No. 3, junior Raffaela Alhach won her third match in a row, pulling the Tribe even at two with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Julieta Honrubia. The Tribe junior improved to 18-13 overall with her 10th dual-match triumph.

After dropping the opening set to Isabella Montana at No. 6, Stange answered with a convincing 6-0 win in the second set and then outlast her Blue Hen opponent in the third set, 6-4. Stange won her fifth match in a row, improving to 15-8 overall. She is 11-7 in dual-match play, including a 6-1 mark on line.
 
Up Next: The Tribe advanced to the CAA Championship match for the 23rd time in the last 26 championships since the CAA went to a head-to-head format. W&M will be in search of its 27th CAA crown when it takes on No. 4 seed Elon on Sunday at 10 a.m. The Phoenix advanced to the championship, upsetting top-seeded Charleston 4-3 in the semifinals. W&M downed Elon, 5-2, to close out the regular season last Saturday.
 
#2 William & Mary 4, #3 Delaware 3
Singles
No. 1 – #121 Mila Saric (W&M) def. Eliza Askarova (UD) – 6-4, 4-6, 7-5
No. 2 – Hedda Gurholt (W&M) def. Alina Vasilenko (UD) – 6-1, 6-4
No. 3 – Raffaela Alhach (W&M) def. Julieta Honrubia (UD) – 6-2, 6-3
No. 4 – Maria Constantinou (UD) def. Elisa Van Meeteren (W&M) – 6-2, 6-2
No. 5 – Dominika Sujova (UD) def. Emma Fernald (W&M) – 7-6 (1), 7-6 (5)
No. 6 – Ine Stange (W&M) def. Isabella Montana (UD) – 3-6, 6-0, 6-4
Finishing Order: 4, 2, 3, 6, 5, 1*
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Sujova/Vasilenko (UD) vs. Alhach/Van Meeteren (W&M) – DNF, 5-1
No. 2 – Askarova/Constantinou (UD) def. Fernald/Saric (W&M) – 6-2
No. 3 – Montana/Honrubia (UD) def. Gurholt/Stange (W&M) – 6-4
Finishing Order: 2, 3*