Saturday, February 15, 2025

W&M Women’s Tennis Tops Big 12 Foe West Virginia, 5-2

(Tribe Athletics)

WILLIAMSBURG — Mira Kernagis and Alessandra Anghel rallied for three-set wins to lift William & Mary women’s tennis to a 5-2 win over Big 12 foe West Virginia on Sunday afternoon at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center.

The Tribe (2-0) captured the doubles point for the second-straight day, before senior Hedda Gurholt and sophomore Francesca Davis tallied straight-set wins at No. 1 and No. 4. Kernagis clinched the Tribe’s second victory of the season with a three-set triumph at No. 6, while Anghel notched the fifth team point with a three-set win of her own on line two.

The victory was the program’s first over a power conference opponent since 2020 and the first over the Big 12 since 2017.

How It Happened  

  • The Tribe opened the match by taking the doubles point behind wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions.
  • Anghel and Davis gave the Tribe the early lead in doubles for the second time in as many days. The tandem dropped just one game in a 6-1 victory over Maja Dodik and Julie Bousseau at No. 2. Anghel and Davis improved to 4-1 on the season.
  • After a West Virginia win at No. 1, senior Emma Fernald and Kernagis clinched the initial point of the match with a 6-3 win over Laura Villanueva and Susannah Su at No. 3. The Tribe pair improve to 4-3 on the season.
  • The Mountaineers pulled even with a victory at No. 4 and also claimed opening sets at No. 2, No. 3 and No. 6 to swing the momentum to the visitors.
  • W&M countered with straight set wins from Gurholt (No. 1) and Davis (No. 5) to increase it leads to 3-1. Gurholt won matching 6-2 sets to down Mille Haagensen for her 80th career singles win. Davis won her third match in a row and improved to 12-3 on the year with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Lyla Byers on line five.
  • Needing one more singles win to claim the team triumph, Anghel, junior Sia Chaudry, and Kernagis bounced back to force decisive third sets at No. 2, No. 3, and No. 6, respectively.
  • Kernagis clinched the team victory with a come-from-behind three-set win at No. 6. After Susannah Su claimed the opening set, the Tribe rookie dropped just three games over the final two, 6-2, 6-1, to pick up the win. It was Kernagis’s 10th singles victory of the season as she improved to 2-0 at No. 6.
  • Anghel rounded out the Tribe triumph with a three-set win at No. 2. Bousseau won the opening set, before the W&M senior answered with a 6-4 victory in the second and a 6-2 win in the third. She ran her season ledger to 9-6.

Up Next
The Tribe wraps up its three-match homestand to open the season when it welcomes Longwood to the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center on Wednesday, Feb. 5. The match is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start time and will be streamed on PlaySight.

William & Mary 5, West Virginia 2
Singles
No. 1 – Hedda Gurholt (W&M) def. Mille Haagensen (WVU) – 6-2, 6-2
No. 2 – Alessandra Anghel (W&M) def. Julie Bousseau (WVU) – 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
No. 3 – Maja Dodik (WVU) def. Sia Chaudry (W&M) – 6-3, 6-7 (4), 1-0 (7)
No. 4 – Laura Villanueva (WVU) def. Ine Stange (W&M) – 6-1, 6-1
No. 5 – Francesca Davis (W&M) def. Lyla Byers (WVU) – 6-3, 6-2
No. 6 – Mira Kernagis (W&M) def. Susannah Su (WVU) – 4-6, 6-2, 6-1
Finishing Order: 4, 1, 5, 6*, 2, 3

Doubles
No. 1 – Haagensen/Byers (WVU) def. Gurholt/Stange (W&M) – 6-2
No. 2 – Anghel/Davis (W&M) def. Dodik/Bousseau (WVU) – 6-1
No. 3 – Fernald/Kernagis (W&M) def. Villanueva/Su (WVU) – 6-3
Finishing Order: 2, 1, 3*

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