ELON, N.C. – In a back-and-forth nail-biter to the end, William & Mary women's tennis dropped a heartbreaker, 4-2, at Elon in the CAA Championship match on Sunday afternoon at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.
 
Elon's first CAA Championship snapped a streak of three-straight league crowns for W&M (14-6). In total, the Tribe has won 29 of the 40 all-time CAA Championships.

After Elon won the doubles point, seniors Alessandra Anghel and Ine Stange won straight-set matches at No. 2 and No. 3 to pull the Tribe even at two. The championship came down to a trio of three-setters at No. 1, No. 5, and No. 6.
 
The Phoenix (19-5) took the lead for good with a win on court six. Freshman Mira Kernagis jumped out to a set advantage, taking the first, 6-3, from Lisa Kranec. The Tribe rookie jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second, before Kranec stormed back to tie the match with 6-4 win. In the decisive third set, Kernagis battled back cutting a once 5-1 deficit to 5-3. Kranec served out the match to give the home team a 3-2 lead.
 
At No. 5, sophomore Francesca Davis rallied from a set deficit against Madison Cordisco, taking the second by a 6-4 scoreline. She led 4-3 in the third and was serving when the match was abandoned with the championship decided.
 
Senior Hedda Gurholt nearly pulled off a massive comeback at No. 1. The two-time reigning CAA Player of the Year dropped the opening set to Simone Bergeron, 6-4, but bounced back to take the second by a matching 6-4 line. Gurholt found herself facing a 5-2 deficit in the third, but once against rallied with a break to close within 5-4. Bergeron though won the final two points of the 10th game to secure the Phoenix's championship victory.
 
In doubles, senior Emma Fernald and Kernagis gave the Tribe the early lead with a dominating 6-1 win at No. 3 over Miray Konar and Heidi Bulger at No. 3. The Tribe tandem won its second match in as many days to improve to 14-8 overall and 11-5 on line three.
 
Elon countered with 6-3 wins at No. 1 and No. 2 to secure the initial point of the match and take a 1-0 lead.
 
Anghel pulled the Tribe even at one with a straight-sets win at No. 2. The Tribe senior won her 22nd match of the season, topping Mariana Reding, 6-3, 6-4. Anghel moved to 14-5 at No. 2 in the process.
 
After an Elon win at No. 4, the Green and Gold again pulled even behind Stange's win on line three. The Tribe senior took the opening set from Helen Sarikulaya, 6-3, before the Elon player opened up a 2-0 lead in the second. Not to be outdone, Stange won six of the final seven games for a 6-3 victory. She improved to 19-12 overall and 13-5 in dual-match action.

#1 Elon 4, #2 William & Mary 2
Singles
No. 1 -  Simone Bergeron (Elon) def. Hedda Gurholt (W&M) – 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
No. 2 – Alessandra Anghel (W&M) def. Mariana Reding (Elon) – 6-3, 6-4
No. 3 – Ine Stange (W&M) def. Helen Sarikulaya (Elon) – 6-3, 6-3
No. 4 – Heidi Bulger (Elon) def. Sia Chaudry (W&M) – 6-2, 6-0
No. 5 – Francesca Davis (W&M) vs. Madison Cordisco (Elon) – DNF, 5-7, 6-4, 4-3
No. 6 – Lisa Kranec (Elon) def. Mira Kernagis (W&M) – 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
Finishing Order: 2, 4, 3, 6, 1*
 
Doubles
No. 1 – Bergeron/Reding  (Elon) def. Gurholt/Stange (W&M) – 6-3
No. 2 – Sarikulaya/Kranec  (Elon) def. Anghel/Davis (W&M) – 6-3
No. 3 – Fernald/Kernagis (W&M) def. Miray Konar/Bulger (Elon) – 6-1
Finishing Order: 3, 1, 2*