TOWSON (Md.) — William & Mary (W&M) women’s tennis picked up a pair of Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) wins at the Tigers Tennis Complex on Saturday afternoon.
The Green and Gold used a strong singles performance to knock of Delaware, 4-3, thanks to a three-set clinching win from senior Mila Saric. The Tribe, which evened its overall record at 8-8 thanks to the wins, swept host Towson, 7-0, to wrap up the day. The Green and Gold ran its CAA mark to 4-1.
Saric, freshman Hedda Gurholt and junior Elisa Van Meeteren led the way during the doubleheader thanks to a pair of singles wins each. With the victories, Saric ran her season mark to 22-5 with 12 wins at No. 1, while Gurholt notched her 20th victory.
In the win over Delaware (14-5), the Tribe won three of the first four singles matches off the court in straight sets to take a 3-2 lead over the Blue Hens.
After UD won the doubles point, Gurholt pulled the Tribe even, downing Alina Vasilenko, 6-3, 7-6 (1), at No. 2. Van Meeteren put the Tribe on top thanks to a 7-5, 6-1 triumph over Samantha Svendsen on line four.
Following a Blue Hen singles win that briefly tied the match, junior Raffaela Alhach upended Julieta Honrubia, 7-6 (3), 7-5, at No. 3 to put the Tribe back in front. She improved to 15-12 overall and 2-1 on line three.
The balance of the match came down to three-set tilts at No. 1 and No. 5. After dropping the opening set to Eliza Askarova, Saric roared back behind a convincing tiebreaker win in the second set, 7-6 (0). She edged the Blue Hens’ top player in the third set, 6-4, to clinch the W&M win.
In the victory over Towson (4-10), the Tribe won at the top two doubles positions to claim the initial point of the match. Saric and Gurholt upended Themis Haliou and Sissi Axelsson, 6-1, at the top spot. Alhach and Van Meeteren clinched the point with an unblemished 6-0 triumph over Jessica Assenmacher and Olivia Rothfeld at No. 2. Saric and Gurholt ran their record to 8-7 at No. 1, while Alhach and Van Meeteren moved to 7-4 on line two, including a 3-1 CAA mark.
In singles, Van Meeteren won her second match of the day, dropping just two games in a commanding 6-1, 6-1 victory over Jessica Assenmacher at No. 3. It was her ninth win overall and sixth in dual-match play.
Rookies Ine Stange and Kensie Cricchio cemented the Tribe team triumph with victories at No. 5 and No. 6, respectively. Each Tribe player dropped just three games in straight-set wins, including the clincher from Cricchio. Stange notched her 11th singles win of the year, while Cricchio improved to 2-0 at No. 6.
Saric also dropped just three games in a 6-0, 6-3 victory over Amelia Lawson at No. 1 for her fourth-straight win.
Freshman Emma Fernald won in straight sets at well, topping Sarah Pospischill, 6-1, 6-3, at No. 4. It marked her 10th dual-match win of the year as she moved to 16-9 overall.
Gurholt rounded out the sweep with a three-set win over Haliou, 6-2, 4-6, 10-6. It marked her 10th win of the season at the No. 2 spot.
Up Next: The Tribe returns to action when it hosts Richmond on Saturday, April 16. The match is slated for a 2 p.m. start time at the Mackesy Tennis Center at the Millie West Courts.
William & Mary 4, Delaware 3
Singles
No. 1 – #109 Mila Saric (W&M) def. Eliza Askarova (Delaware) – 2-6, 7-6 (0), 6-4
No. 2 – Hedda Gurholt (W&M) def. Alina Vasilenko (Delaware) – 6-3, 7-6 (1)
No. 3 – Raffaela Alhach (W&M) def. Julieta Honrubia (Delaware) – 7-6 (3), 7-5
No. 4 – Elisa Van Meeteren (W&M) def. Samantha Svendsen (Delaware) – 7-5, 6-1
No. 5 – Dominika Sujova (Delaware) def. Emma Fernald (W&M) – 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
No. 6 – Isabella Montana (Delaware) def. Ine Stange (W&M) – 6-4, 6-3
Finishing Order: 2, 4, 6, 3, 5, 1*
Doubles
No. 1 – Sujova/Vasilenko (Delaware) def. Saric/Gurholt (W&M) – 6-2
No. 2 – Alhach/Van Meeteren (W&M) vs. Askarova/Svendsen (Delaware) DNF, 2-3
No. 3 – Montana/Honrubia (Delaware) def. Stange/Fernald (W&M) – 6-0
Finishing Order: 3, 1*
William & Mary 7, Towson 0
Singles
No. 1 – #109 Mila Saric (W&M) def. Amelia Lawson (Towson) – 6-0, 6-3
No. 2 – Hedda Gurholt (W&M) def. Themis Haliou (Towson) – 6-2, 4-6, 10-6
No. 3 – Elisa Van Meeteren (W&M) def. Jessica Assenmacher (Towson) – 6-1, 6-1
No. 4 – Emma Fernald (W&M) def. Sarah Pospischill (Towson) – 6-1, 6-3
No. 5 – Ine Stange (W&M) def. Sissi Axelsson (Towson) – 6-2, 6-1
No. 6 – Kensie Cricchio (W&M) def. Olivia Rothfeld (Towson) – 6-1, 6-2
Finishing Order: 3, 5, 6*, 1, 4, 2
Doubles
No. 1 – Saric/Gurholt (W&M) def. Hailou/Axelsson (Towson) – 6-1
No. 2 – Alhach/Van Meeteren (W&M) def. Assenmacher/Rothfeld (Towson) – 6-0
No. 3 – Stange/Fernald (W&M) vs. Lawson/Kosanovic (Towson) – DNF, 3-3
Finishing Order: 1, 2*