WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - Winners of four straight, the William and Mary women's tennis team rounds out a four-match homestand with a Saturday doubleheader on Feb. 23 at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center. The Green and Gold welcomes Ivy League foe Penn at 10 a.m., before facing its second CAA counterpart of the season in James Madison at 4 p.m.

New for the 2013 dual match season, the ITA Women's Tennis Hall of Fame, which is housed in the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center, will be open for fans to enjoy during Tribe home matches at the facility. The ITA Women's Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame was created to celebrate the milestones in women's collegiate tennis. The Hall of Fame aspires to preserve the history and further the development of women's intercollegiate tennis through the collection of printed materials, trophies, photographs, equipment and other significant items.

Scouting the Tribe
The Tribe improved to 8-3 on the year with its second win over a national top-30 foe, knocking off No. 30 South Carolina, 4-3, on Feb. 17. The Green and Gold claimed the doubles point as the No. 4-ranked team in the country of juniors Maria Belaya and Jeltje Loomans opened pairs play with a win at the No. 1 position over the No. 57-ranked Gamecock team. Junior Sydney Smith and freshman Leeza Nemchinov clinched the doubles point, winning for the second time in as many matches at the No. 3 position. Nemchinov and senior Anik Cepeda recorded wins at the No. 3 and No. 5 singles slots to increase the Tribe's advantage to 3-0. Cepeda picked up her team-best 16th singles win, while Nemchinov improved to 14-9 on the year. Both players lead the Tribe with 8-2 dual-match marks. Belaya clinched the team triumph, winning in three-sets over the No. 59-ranked player in the country at the top spot. With its victory, W&M moved up 10 spots in the national rankings, released on Feb. 19, from No. 47 to No. 37.

Scouting James Madison
James Madison enters the match with the Green and Gold at 2-2 overall and 1-1 in CAA play. After opening the season with a split of CAA matches, downing Mason (5-0) and falling to UNCW (4-3) in Norfolk, the Dukes also split a pair of matches last weekend. JMU dropped a narrow 4-3 decision to Navy, before upending Howard, 5-2. Michelle Nguyen and Taylor Pinchoff were named the CAA Doubles Team of the Week following wins at the top spot against Navy and Howard. The duo is 11-3 on the year. Pinchoff, who plays at the top singles post, was a third-team All-CAA doubles choice last season, while Jacqueline Palmucci garnered third-team all-league in singles in 2012. W&M is 35-1 all-time vs. JMU, including a 7-0 win in the last meeting in 2010 at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center.  

Scouting Penn
The Quakers started the 2013 with four straight home victories. Penn swept a doubleheader against Lehigh and St. Joseph's by matching 7-0 scores to open the campaign. More recently, the Quakers downed Richmond, 7-0, before defeating Stony Brook, 4-3, last week. A trio of Penn players own nine singles wins on the season, including Stephanie Do, Sol Eskenazi and Alex Ion. Eskenazi holds down the Quakers' No. 1 post and is 2-1 in dual-match play. Eskenazi and Sonya Laytcheva comprise Penn's No. 1 doubles team, posting an impressive 13-2 ledger with a 3-0 mark in dual-match play. The Tribe is 5-0- all-time vs. Penn, including a 4-0 ledger in Williamsburg. In the last meeting, W&M rolled to a 6-1 victory over the Quakers during the 2008 campaign in Williamsburg.

News and Notes
- With its weekend wins over West Virginia and No. 30 South Carolina, the Tribe improved to 8-2 on the season. It marks the Tribe's best start since 2007 when the Green and Gold won 11 straight on the way to a 22-3 mark and an appearance in the NCAA Round of 16. Included in the Tribe's eight victories this season are a pair over top-30 teams as W&M downed No. 19 Mississippi and No. 30 South Carolina.

- The Tribe's No. 37 national ranking in the latest poll released on Feb. 19 marks its highest since the Green and Gold was No. 32 in the Feb. 18, 2010 poll following a win over No. 27-ranked Florida International.

- Junior Maria Belaya earned her second weekly CAA honor in as many weeks after the league named her the Player of the Week on Tuesday. Belaya garnered the distinction after posting a pair of wins at the No. 1 singles position in Tribe victories over West Virginia and No. 30 South Carolina. She clinched the Tribe's 4-3 win over the Gamecocks with a three-set victory over No. 59 nationally ranked Jaklin Alawi. Belaya is 12-8 on the year, including a 6-4 mark at the No. 1 post in dual-match play.

- The Saturday doubleheader marks the Tribe final two contests of a four-match homestand, and the Green and Gold will hit the road for the entire month of March with five matches away from Williamsburg. The Tribe begins the road swing at ACC foe Wake Forest on March 3, before traveling to the Washington, D.C. area for matches at Georgetown and Maryland on March 16-17. W&M closes out the stretch with a pair of matches in Houston, March 23-24, at No. 35 Rice and Houston.