WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – William & Mary opened the 2023 spring campaign with a doubleheader sweep on Saturday afternoon at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center. The Tribe kicked the day off with a 6-1 victory over George Washington, before downing in-state foe Norfolk State, 4-3.
 
The Tribe (2-0) claimed the doubles point and won five of six singles contests in the triumph over the Colonials. In the nightcap, freshman Emma Pell rallied from a set deficit on her way to a dominating third-set tiebreaker win to clinch the victory over Norfolk State. Pell was the lone Tribe player to go 2-0 in singles action on Saturday.
 
George Washington Recap
- The Tribe started things off against the Colonials (0-2-1) by winning the doubles point with victories at the No. 2 and No. 3 posts. Senior Raffaela Alhach and sophomore Hedda Gurholt gave W&M the early lead behind a 6-1 win over Sarah Bodewes and Lindsay Thompson on line two. The tandem is 4-0 combined over the last two seasons.
- Graduate student Sofiya Kuzina and sophomore Ine Stange clinched the point with a 6-3 win over Charlotte Bell and Alejandra Ramirez at No. 3.
- Stange and Pell quickly upped the Tribe lead to 3-0 with straight-set wins at No. 5 and No. 6 singles. Stange dropped just four games in topping Bell, 6-1, 6-3, while Pell bounced Ramirez, 6-3, 6-3. Stange won her fifth match of the year.
- After a GW victory on line 2, sophomore Emma Fernald cemented the Tribe's season-opening win with a come-from-behind three-set win at No. 4. After dropping the opening set, she rolled to 6-3, 6-2 wins in the second and third over Bodewes for her team-leading eighth win of the season.
- Sophomore Hedda Gurholt and senior Raffaela Alhach rounded out the Tribe win in three-set victories at No. 1 and No. 3, respectively. Gurholt topped Stella Wiesemann behind tiebreaker victories in the first and third sets, while Alhach topped Lindsay Thompson. Both players picked up their sixth wins of the year.
 
Norfolk State Recap
- The Tribe opened the win over the Spartans (0-1) by capturing the key doubles point. After NSU won at No. 2, Pell and freshman Yaelle Vaissaud pulled W&M even with a 7-5 victory over Laura Ruiz and Oceanne Lopez on line three. The pair improved to 6-3 on the year.
- At the top post, Fernald and senior Elisa Van Meeteren clinched the initial point with a tiebreaker win, 7-6 (6), over Aleksandra Evdokimova and Amber Fuller. The Tribe tandem upped its mark to 3-2.
- Sophomore Kensie Cricchio extended the Tribe lead to 2-0, dropping just two games in a convincing victory at No. 5. She rolled to a 6-2, 6-0 win over Breana Cook and improved to 7-2 on the year.
- After a Spartans win at No. 4, senior Alisia Manolescu posted a straight-sets win on line three to give the Tribe a 3-1 advantage. She topped Ruiz, 6-3, 6-3, for her fifth victory of the season.
- The visitor posted wins at No. 1 and No. 6 to draw even at three, setting up the decisive match at No. 3 singles. Pell won the clincher in come-from-behind fashion for her second victory of the day and fifth on the season.
 
Up Next
The Tribe returns to action on Sunday when it travels to No. 7 Virginia. The match carries at 1 p.m. start time Boar's Head Sports Club.
 
William & Mary 6, George Washington 1
Singles
No. 1 – Hedda Gurholt (W&M) def. Stella Wiesemann (GW) – 7-6 (4), 3-6, 7-6 (4)
No. 2 – Gabriela Giraldo (GW) def. Sofiya Kuzina (W&M) – 6-4, 6-4
No. 3 – Raffaela Alhach (W&M) def. Lindsay Thompson (GW) – 6-1, 4-6, 6-2
No. 4 – Emma Fernald (W&M) def. Sarah Bodewes (GW) – 5-7, 6-3, 6-2
No. 5 – Ine Stange (W&M) def. Charlotte Bell (GW) – 6-1, 6-3
No. 6 – Emma Pell (W&M) def. Alejandra Ramirez (GW) – 6-3, 6-3
Finishing Order: 5, 6, 2, 4*, 3, 1
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Giraldo/Wiesemann (GW) def. Fernald/Van Meeteren (W&M) – 6-3
No. 2 – Alhach/Gurholt (W&M) def. Bodewes/Thompson (GW) – 6-1
No. 3 – Kuzina/Stange (W&M) def. Bell/Ramirez (GW) – 6-3
Finishing Order: 2, 1, 3*
 
William & Mary 4 Norfolk State 3
Singles
No. 1 – Aleksandra Evdokimova (NSU) def. Elisa Van Meeteren (W&M) – 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
No. 2 – Alisia Manolescu (W&M) def. Laura Ruiz (NSU) – 6-3, 6-3
No. 3 – Emma Pell (W&M) def. Amber Fuller (NSU) – 1-6, 6-2, 7-6 (1)
No. 4 – Oceanne Lopez (NSU) def. Alexandra Vesikallio (W&M) – 6-2, 7-5
No. 5 – Kensie Cricchio (W&M) def. Breana Cook (NSU) – 6-2, 6-0
No. 6 – Amal Gati (NSU) def. Yaelle Vaissaud (W&M) – 7-5, 6-4
Finishing Order: 5, 4, 2, 6, 1, 3*
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Fernald/Van Meeteren (W&M) def. Evdokimova/Fuller (NSU) – 7-6 (6)
No. 2 – Cook/Gati (NSU) def. Cricchio/Vesikallio (W&M) – 7-6
No. 3 – Pell/Vaissaud (W&M) def. Lopez/Ruiz (NSU) – 7-5
Finishing Order: 2, 3, 1*