W&M Moves into NCAA Regional Final

The Tribe defeated Richmond, 4-0, in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

05/11/07 8:00PM

Williamsburg - Behind a boisterous and energetic crowd, the No. 15-seeded William and Mary women’s tennis team cruised past Atlantic 10 Champion Richmond, 4-0, in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on May 11. With the victory, the Tribe advanced to the NCAA Regional Final against No. 19-ranked Wake Forest on Saturday, May 12. The contest is slated for 1 p.m. at the Busch Tennis Courts. The College upped its mark to 21-2 on the year, winning its seventh straight contest.

W&M garnered the doubles point for the 21st time on the season with wins at the No. 3 and No. 1 positions. The newly formed freshman duo of Ragini Acharya and Lauren Sabacinski started the Tribe off right with an 8-2 win over Jessica Hubbard and Xenia Schneider at the No. 3 slot. It marked only the second time this season the pair had teamed together.

Like they have all season, senior Megan Moulton-Levy and sophomore Katarina Zoricic dominated to lead the College to the match’s initial point. The No. 1-ranked pair nationally led by a slim 4-3 margin before winning four of the final five games to claim the No. 1 slot and the doubles point for the College.

Sabacinski continued her torrid play for the College in singles. After moving up one spot in the lineup to No. 5, the Plantation, Fla., native rolled past Schneider, 6-0, 6-1, to stake the College to a 2-0 lead. No. 66-ranked Zoricic brought the Tribe within a single victory of the match, winning the final eight games of her match at No. 2 against Robin Carter to claim a 6-3, 6-0 victory.

Sophomore Klaudyna Kasztelaniec sealed the College’s victory with a triumph at the No. 4 slot. She made quick work of the Spiders’ leader in singles wins, Ashlee Vosters, 6-1, 6-1.

Wake Forest advanced to the regional final with a 4-1 win over the Penn Quakers. The Quakers jumped out to an early advantage, claiming the doubles point thanks to a 9-8 (3) tiebreaker win for Lenka Snajdrova and Julia Koulbitskaya at the No. 2 doubles position. Wake Forest battled out the of the early hole with straight set wins at the No. 2, No. 3, No. 4 and No. 6 positions. Ana Jerman (No. 2), Sasha Kulikova (No. 3), Christian Tara (No. 4) and Christine Simpson (No. 6) tallied singles victories for the Demon Deacons.

The Tribe will find a familiar foe in the NCAA Regional Final in Wake Forest. The Tribe and Demon Deacons met in Winston-Salem, N.C., on March 21 with the College tallying a 5-2 win over Wake Forest. Tickets for the Regional Final match will be available at the gate at Busch Courts. Tickets for youth and students with a valid ID are $3, while all other tickets are $5.

Match Notes
W&M improved to 21-0 on the year when it claims the doubles points … The Tribe has advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament four out of the last five years … W&M will look for its first trip to the NCAA Round of 16 since the 2003 season … It marked the second time this season that W&M has defeated Richmond … Acharya and Sabacinski played together for only the second time this season and improved to 2-0 as a team … The win was Acharya’s 23rd of the season, which moved her into a tie for ninth on the W&M freshman record list … Moulton-Levy and Zoricic claimed their 20th dual match win of the year, improving to 39-2 overall … It also marked Moulton-Levy’s 40th doubles win of the year and the 90th of her career … Sabacinski improved to 26-5 on the year with her fifth straight singles victory … She is a perfect 5-0 at the No. 5 singles slot … Zoricic won her 30th match of the season … She is 17-3 in dual match for the College this season … Kasztelaniec won her fourth straight contest, tallying her 10th dual match win of the year … She is 23-9 overall in singles.

NCAA Division I Women’s Tennis First Round
Wake Forest 4, Penn 1
Singles
No. 1 - #117 Ashlee Davis (WF) vs. Yulia Rivelis (Penn) – 7-6, 3-6, 2-0 abandoned
No. 2 – Ana Jerman (WF) def. Julia Koulbitskaya (Penn) – 6-4, 3-0 retired
No. 3 – Sasha Kulikova (WF) def. Lenka Snajdrova (Penn) – 6-4, 6-3
No. 4 – #110 Christian Tara (WF) def. Maria Anismova (Penn) – 6-4, 6-3
No. 5 – Sierra Poske (WF) vs. Charlotte Tansill (Penn) – 6-2, 3-6, 4-3 abandoned
No. 6 – Christine Simpson (WF) def. Lauren Sadaka (Penn) – 6-3, 7-6
Finishing Order: 3, 2, 4, 6*

Doubles
No. 1 - #54 Jerman/Kulikova (WF) def. Rivelis/Anismova (Penn) – 8-0
No. 2 – Snajdrova/Koulbitskaya (Penn) def. Poske/Simpson (WF) – 9-8 (4)
No. 3 – Avedissian/Tansill (Penn) def. Davis/Loeb (WF) – 8-3
Finishing Order: 1, 3, 2*
Time of Match: 4:15

#15 William and Mary 4, Richmond 0
Singles
No. 1 - #9 Megan Moulton-Levy (W&M) vs. #104 Pamela Duran – 6-3, 1-4 abandoned
No. 2 - #66 Katarina Zoricic (W&M) def. Robin Carter (UR) – 6-3, 6-0
No. 3 - Beatrice Grasu (UR) vs. Ragini Acharya (W&M) – 7-6 (6) abandoned
No. 4 - Klaudyna Kasztelaniec (W&M) def. Ashley Vosters (UR) – 6-1, 6-1
No. 5 - Lauren Sabacinski (W&M) def. Xenia Schneider (UR) – 6-0, 6-1
No. 6 – Carmen Pop (W&M) vs. Jessica Hubbard (UR) – 6-1, 4-2 abandoned
Finishing Order: 5, 2, 4*

Doubles
No. 1 - #1 Moulton-Levy/Zoricic (W&M) def. Carter/Grasu (UR) – 8-4
No. 2 - Duran/Vosters (UR) vs. Kasztelaniec/Zidek (W&M) – 6-5 abandoned
No. 3 - Acharya/Sabacinski (W&M) def. Hubbard/Schneider (UR) – 8-2
Finishing Order: 3, 1*

Time of the Match: 2:15
Attendance: 201