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Williamsburg, Va. - The William and Mary women's
tennis team will play its first two home matches of the 2012 dual match season this
weekend at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis. The Green and Gold will open the home
slate against BIG EAST foe Georgetown on Friday, Feb. 17, at 4 p.m., before
hosting No. 51 Maryland on Sunday, Feb. 19, at 1 p.m.
The Tribe, which is ranked No. 60 in the ITA rankings released on Thursday, opened the season with a five-match road swing, playing a quartet of nationally ranked opponents and dropping the last four tilts in narrow fashion. The last time out, W&M dropped a tight 4-3 decision to No. 28-ranked Washington in Minneapolis on Feb. 4. W&M claimed the doubles point against the Huskies, while tallying singles wins at the No. 5 and No. 6 spots thanks to the efforts of sophomore Anik Cepeda and senior Katie Kargl. The match came down to three-set contests at the No. 3 and No. 4 spots where UW claimed both spots to eke out the narrow team victory. The Tribe's top doubles team of sophomores Jeltje Loomans and Maria Belaya were named the CAA Doubles Team of the Week on Wednesday after running its winning streak to three matches. Junior Marlen Mesgarzadeh was ranked No. 100 nationally in the ITA singles rankings released on Thursday.
Georgetown rides a three-match winning streak into the Friday affair with the Green and Gold. After opening the season with a 4-1 setback at VCU, the Hoyas tallied wins over Liberty (7-0), James Madison (6-1) and Pittsburgh (6-1). Senior Lauren Greco, who is ranked No. 79 nationally, is Georgetown's top player, owning a 13-5 overall singles mark, including a 4-0 ledger at the No. 1 singles slot. In doubles, Greco and sophomore Kelly Comolli comprise the No. 1 doubles team for the Hoyas and are 2-1 at the top post. W&M is 1-0 all-time against Georgetown with the last meeting coming during the 1982-83 season.
Maryland enters the match with the Tribe at 3-4, following a weekend split of road matches against the Ivy League. The Terrapins fell at No. 51 Princeton, 5-2, on Feb. 11, before downing Penn, 7-0, a day later. Maryland also owns victories over No. 60 Harvard (4-3) and Howard, while their other three setbacks have come against nationally ranked foes in No. 10 Michigan (5-2), No. 21 Notre Dame (7-0) and No. 55 Boston College (4-3). Sophomore Cristina Stancu is the Terps top player, ranking No. 46 in the country. During the fall season, Stancu won the ITA Atlantic Region Singles Championship, and she owns a team-best 12-5 singles ledger. Junior Ana Belzunce is also rated in the national singles rankings at No. 99, while the doubles team of Belzunce and sophomore Welma Luus is ranked No. 20 nationally. The Tribe leads the all-time series with Maryland at 24-3, including a perfect 12-0 mark in Williamsburg. The last time the teams met, W&M pulled out a 4-3 victory over the Terps in College Park, Md., during the 2009 campaign.
Following the two home matches, the Tribe will return to the road for a pair of tilts in Syracuse, N.Y. W&M will meet the host and No. 73 ranked Orange on Friday, Feb. 24, at 5 p.m., before a rematch of last season's NCAA Tournament opening round contest against No. 25 Yale on Saturday, Feb. 25, at 11 a.m. The College's next home match at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center will be on Saturday, March 3, at 11 a.m., against No. 75 Wake Forest.
The Tribe, which is ranked No. 60 in the ITA rankings released on Thursday, opened the season with a five-match road swing, playing a quartet of nationally ranked opponents and dropping the last four tilts in narrow fashion. The last time out, W&M dropped a tight 4-3 decision to No. 28-ranked Washington in Minneapolis on Feb. 4. W&M claimed the doubles point against the Huskies, while tallying singles wins at the No. 5 and No. 6 spots thanks to the efforts of sophomore Anik Cepeda and senior Katie Kargl. The match came down to three-set contests at the No. 3 and No. 4 spots where UW claimed both spots to eke out the narrow team victory. The Tribe's top doubles team of sophomores Jeltje Loomans and Maria Belaya were named the CAA Doubles Team of the Week on Wednesday after running its winning streak to three matches. Junior Marlen Mesgarzadeh was ranked No. 100 nationally in the ITA singles rankings released on Thursday.
Georgetown rides a three-match winning streak into the Friday affair with the Green and Gold. After opening the season with a 4-1 setback at VCU, the Hoyas tallied wins over Liberty (7-0), James Madison (6-1) and Pittsburgh (6-1). Senior Lauren Greco, who is ranked No. 79 nationally, is Georgetown's top player, owning a 13-5 overall singles mark, including a 4-0 ledger at the No. 1 singles slot. In doubles, Greco and sophomore Kelly Comolli comprise the No. 1 doubles team for the Hoyas and are 2-1 at the top post. W&M is 1-0 all-time against Georgetown with the last meeting coming during the 1982-83 season.
Maryland enters the match with the Tribe at 3-4, following a weekend split of road matches against the Ivy League. The Terrapins fell at No. 51 Princeton, 5-2, on Feb. 11, before downing Penn, 7-0, a day later. Maryland also owns victories over No. 60 Harvard (4-3) and Howard, while their other three setbacks have come against nationally ranked foes in No. 10 Michigan (5-2), No. 21 Notre Dame (7-0) and No. 55 Boston College (4-3). Sophomore Cristina Stancu is the Terps top player, ranking No. 46 in the country. During the fall season, Stancu won the ITA Atlantic Region Singles Championship, and she owns a team-best 12-5 singles ledger. Junior Ana Belzunce is also rated in the national singles rankings at No. 99, while the doubles team of Belzunce and sophomore Welma Luus is ranked No. 20 nationally. The Tribe leads the all-time series with Maryland at 24-3, including a perfect 12-0 mark in Williamsburg. The last time the teams met, W&M pulled out a 4-3 victory over the Terps in College Park, Md., during the 2009 campaign.
Following the two home matches, the Tribe will return to the road for a pair of tilts in Syracuse, N.Y. W&M will meet the host and No. 73 ranked Orange on Friday, Feb. 24, at 5 p.m., before a rematch of last season's NCAA Tournament opening round contest against No. 25 Yale on Saturday, Feb. 25, at 11 a.m. The College's next home match at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center will be on Saturday, March 3, at 11 a.m., against No. 75 Wake Forest.
