WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - William & Mary opened the dual-match season with a 7-0 sweep of Longwood at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center on Saturday afternoon. The Tribe took the doubles point and then did not drop a set to take all six of the singles victories.
 
The Tribe (1-0) opened the match by taking the doubles point with victories at No. 1 and No.3. Senior Kensie Cricchio and graduate student Mila Mejic topped Sophia Marchetta and Nina Hederich, 6-2, at No. 3, bringing their overall record to 2-1.
 
At No. 1, graduate student Yu Chen and junior Emma Fernald clinched the doubles point with a 6-2 victory over Karina Rizvanova and Feline Van Eijkelenburg. The Tribe pair improved to 2-1 on the year.
 
Sophomore Yaelle Vaissaud and Yu Chen won in near perfect fashion to increase the Tribe lead to 3-0. Vaissaud won her first career dual match in dominant fashion, 6-0, -61 over Alexis Broderick at No. 6, while Chen did not drop a game in an unblemished 6-0, 6-0 triumph over Oriana Izarra on line two. Both Vaissaud and Chen improved to 6-4 on the year.
 
In her first career dual-match, freshman Francesca Davis clinched the team triumph, taking out her opponent Kashmira Manohar, 6-1, 6-4. It was Davis's fifth win of the season.
 
Juniors Hedda Gurholt (No. 1), Ine Stange (No. 3) and Emma Fernald (No. 4) rounded out the Tribe sweep with straight-sets wins. Gurholt upended Van Eijkelenburg, 6-3, 6-2, for her team-leading 10th win of the year.
 
At No. 3, Stange took the first set from Longwood's Sophia Marchett, 6-2, and fought for a 7-5 win in the second set. Fernald battled against Rizanova, taking the first set in a tiebreaker, 7-6, and the second set, 6-4, at No 4. Both Stange and Fernald won for the fifth time this season.
 
The Tribe is back in action Sunday, Feb. 4, against Georgetown. The matchup is set to start at 11 a.m. back at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center.
 
William & Mary 7, Longwood 0
Singles
No. 1 – Hedda Gurholt (W&M) def. Feline van Eijkelenburg (LU) – 6-3, 6-2
No. 2 – Yu Chen (W&M) def. Oriana Izarra (LU) – 6-0, 6-0
No. 3 – Ine Stange (W&M) def. Sophia Marchetta (LU) – 6-2, 7-5
No. 4 – Emma Fernald (W&M) def. Karina Rizvanova (LU) – 7-6 (4), 6-4
No. 5 – Francesca Davis (W&M) def. Kashmira Manohar (LU) – 6-1, 6-4
No. 6 – Yaelle Vaissaud (W&M) def. Alexis Broderick (LU) – 6-0, 6-1
Finishing Order: 6, 2, 5*, 1, 4, 3
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Yu/Fernald (W&M) def. van Eijkelenburg/Rizvanova (LU) – 6-2
No. 2 – Gurholt/Stange (W&M) vs. Izarra/Manohar (LU) – DNF, 5-2
No. 3 – Cricchio/Mejic (W&M) def. Marchetta/Hederich (LU) – 6-2
Finishing Order: 3, 1*