ELON, N.C. – William & Mary women's tennis advanced to the championship match for the 10th-straight CAA Tournament behind a 4-0 win over Delaware in the semifinals on Saturday afternoon at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.
 
After capturing the doubles point, W&M (14-5) received singles wins from freshman Mira Kernagis (No. 6), sophomore Francesca Davis (No. 5), and senior Hedda Gurholt (No.1) to advance to the title match. Over the 30 CAA Tournaments since the league went to the head-to-head dual-match format, the Tribe has now advanced to the championship on 27 occasions.
 
The Tribe jumped out to a 1-0 lead behind a pair of convincing wins at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles. Gurholt and senior Ine Stange won their 10th match at the No. 1 position, dropping just one game in a 6-1 win over Alina Vasilenko and Cornelia Kack of Delaware (18-8).
 
At No. 3, senior Emma Fernald and Kernagis also only lost a single game, topping Greta Schieroni and Samantha Svendsen, 6-1, to clinch the initial point of the match. The Tribe tandem moved to 13-8 overall with its 10th victory on line three.
 
The Tribe won the opening set in five of the six singles matches. Kernagis carried over the double momentum by increasing the Tribe lead to 2-0 with a straight-sets win at No. 6. The Tribe rookie rolled to a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Kack. It was just Kack's fourth loss of the season as  she entered the match at 27-3. 

The remaining five singles spots went to three sets. Davis notched a three-set win at No. 5 over Greta Schieroni to push the lead to 3-0. The players split the first two sets by matching 6-1 scores, before the Tribe sophomore held off the Blue Hen senior, 6-4, in the final set. Davis won her team-leading 23rd singles match of the season and 10th at No. 5. Schieroni entered the day on an eight-match win streak with an impressive 20-3 record.
 
Gurholt won her 20th match of the season for the clincher. The Tribe senior won the opening set, 6-3, before UD's Maryia Hrynashka pulled even with a 6-3 victory in the second. Gurholt turned it on in the third, rolling to a 6-1 win to clinch the team triumph. She won her fourth in a row to up her mark to 14-5 at No. 1.
 
Up Next
The Tribe, which is looking for its fourth-straight CAA title and 30th overall, takes on Elon in the CAA Championship match on Sunday morning at 10 a.m. at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center. The Phoenix knocked off No. 4 Charleston, 4-0, in the other semifinal on Saturday.
 
#2 William & Mary 4, #3 Delaware 0
Singles
No. 1 - Hedda Gurholt (W&M) def. Maryia Hrynashka (UD) – 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
No. 2 – Alessandra Anghel (W&M) vs. Alina Vasilenko (UD) – DNF, 6-3, 4-6, 0-3
No. 3 – Ine Stange (W&M) vs. Paulina Jurkowska (UD) – DNF, 1-6, 6-0, 5-0
No. 4 – Sia Chaudry (W&M) vs. Navya Vadlamudi (UD) – DNF, 4-6, 6-4
No. 5 – Francesca Davis (W&M) def. Greta Schieroni (UD) – 6-1, 1-6, 6-4
No. 6 – Mira Kernagis (W&M) def. Cornelia Kack (UD) – 6-3, 6-1
Finishing Order: 6, 5, 1*
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Gurholt/Stange (W&M) def. Vasilenko/Kack (UD) – 6-1
No. 2 – Anghel/Davis (W&M) vs. Hrynashka/Jurkowska (UD) – DNF, 4-3
No. 3 – Fernald/Kernagis (W&M) def. Schieroni/Svendsen (UD) – 6-1
Finishing Order: 1, 3*