WILMINGTON, N.C. — William & Mary women’s tennis opened up CAA play with a 5-2 road win at UNCW on Saturday afternoon. It marked the Tribe’s third-straight victory.
The Tribe (7-5, 1-0 CAA) captured the doubles point with convincing wins at No. 2 and No. 3. W&M took the top four singles positions — juniors Hedda Gurholt (No. 1) and Ine Stange (No. 4) and graduate students Yu Chen (No. 2) and Mila Mejic (No. 3) — to down the Seahawks (6-3, 1-1 CAA).
How it Happened
- W&M dropped just three total games at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles to claim the initial point of the match. Stange and Gurholt rolled to a 6-1 victory over Stela Joksimovic and Alicia Eberwien at No. 2 to give the Tribe the lead. The Green and Gold pair won its fifth match on line two.
- Freshman Francesca Davis and sophomore Yaelle Vaissaud clinched the doubles point with a 6-2 win over Anna Parker Shumate and Lucia Gomez at No. 3. The pair won its fourth in a row, improving to 7-2 on the year.
- At the top singles post, Gurholt jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first set when her opponent, Eda Arli, retired. The victory was Gurholt’s second-straight win as she upped her mark to 17-4 overall and 8-2 in dual-match action.
- Mejic quickly pushed the margin to 3-0, dropping just one game in a dominant win at No. 3. She bounced Katelyn Hubbard, 6-1, 6-0, for her eighth win on the year.
- Chen clinched the Tribe victory with a strong, 6-1, 6-2, triumph over Stela Joksimovic at No. 2. She won her third in a row to push her season ledger to 12-7 overall and 7-3 in dual-match action.
- After a pair of Seahawks third-set super tiebreaker wins at No. 5 and No. 6, Stange punctuated the Tribe victory with a straight-set win at No. 4. She downed Elif Albayrak, 6-4, 6-4, for her 10th win of the year. Stange ran her win streak to four and improved to 6-4 in dual-match action.
Up Next
The Tribe continues its road trip at CAA foe Charleston on Saturday, March 16, at 10 a.m.
William & Mary 5, UNCW 2
Singles
No. 1 – Hedda Gurholt (W&M) def. Eda Arli (UNCW) – 3-0, retire
No. 2 – Yu Chen (W&M) def. Stela Joksimovic (UNCW) – 6-1, 6-2
No. 3 – Mila Mejic (W&M) def. Katelyn Hubbard (UNCW) – 6-1, 6-0
No. 4 – Ine Stange (W&M) def. Elif Albayrak (UNCW) – 6-4, 6-4
No. 5 – Alicia Eberwien (UNCW) def. Francesca Davis (W&M) – 1-6, 6-3, 10-8
No. 6 – Lucia Gomez (UNCW) def. Yaelle Vaissaud (W&M) – 6-2, 4-6, 10-8
Finishing Order: 1, 3, 2*, 5, 6, 4
Doubles
No. 1 – Chen/Fernald (W&M) vs. Arli/Albayrak (UNCW) – DNF, 4-3
No. 2 – Stange/Gurholt (W&M) def. Joksimovic/Eberwein (UNCW) – 6-1
No. 3 – Davis/Vaissaud (W&M) def. Shumate/Gomez (UNCW) – 6-2
Finishing Order: 2, 3
