Acharya Rallies to Clinch Tribe victory over No. 21 Wake Forest

Sophomore Ragini Acharya picked up a come-from-behind, three-set win at the No. 3 position to clinch the 4-2 win over Wake Forest.

01/26/08 11:00PM

Williamsburg - On the strength of a come-from-behind, three-set victory from sophomore Ragini Acharya, the No. 15 William and Mary women’s tennis team staved off the upset attempt of No. 21 Wake Forest, 4-2, on Saturday afternoon at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center. W&M improved to 2-1 on the year with the victory, while the Demon Deacons dropped their season opener.

After Wake Forest closed the gap to 3-2 with a three-set win at the No. 5 spot, Acharya stepped up at the No. 3 slot for the Tribe. The No. 55-ranked player nationally dropped the first set to the Demon Deacon’s Christian Tara, 6-3, but rallied to force a decisive third set by taking the second, 6-4. The Tribe sophomore then steam rolled Tara in the third set, 6-1, to clinch the Tribe’s victory.

The Tribe took the doubles point to open the match with convincing wins at the No. 1 and No. 3 slots. The No. 46-ranked duo of senior Megan Moulton-Levy and junior Katarina Zoricic raced out to a 5-0 lead, before claiming the 8-2 win at the top tandems position over Alexandra Hirsch and Emilee Malvehy. The sophomore tandem of Magdalena Bresson and Lauren Sabacinski remained perfect on the year with an 8-3 win over Jenna Loeb and Tara at the No. 3 spot. The W&M duo is a perfect 6-0 on the season.

After Wake Forest pulled even with the win at the No. 2 slot, the Tribe retook the advantage with wins at the No. 1 and No. 4 spots. Moulton-Levy, who is ranked No. 12 nationally, knocked off her sixth ranked foe of the year, downing No. 75-ranked Hirsch, 6-3, 6-3. Junior Klaudyna Kasztelaniec pulled W&M within a victory of the team win with a 6-2, 6-3 triumph as the No. 4 slot. Kasztelaniec downed Sierra Poske for her 10th win of the year.

W&M returns to action when it travels to No. 39 Virginia on Wednesday, Jan. 30, at 4 p.m. The Tribe returns home when it hosts No. 68 Princeton at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center on Sunday, Feb. 3, at 11 a.m.

Match Notes
Moulton-Levy and Zoricic improved to 9-4 overall this season and 2-1 at the No. 1 doubles position ... Moulton-Levy knocked off her sixth ranked foe of the year in improving to 10-3 on the season ... Kasztelaneic bumped her season mark to 10-5 with the win at the No. 4 slot ... Acharya won her third three-set match of the year, each of them in the come-from-behind variety ... Acharya pulled even with fellow classmate Magdalena Bresson for team-high singles wins honors with her 15th of the year.

#15 William and Mary 4, #21 Wake Forest 2
Singles
No. 1 - #12 Megan Moulton-Levy (W&M) def. #75 Alexandra Hirsch (WF) – 6-3, 6-3
No. 2 - Sasha Kulikova (WF) def. #83 Katarina Zoricic (W&M) – 6-2, 6-2
No. 3 - #55 Ragini Acharya (W&M) def. Christian Tara (WF) – 3-6, 6-4, 6-1
No. 4 – Klaudyna Kasztelaniec (W&M) def. Sierra Poske (WF) – 6-2, 6-3
No. 5 – Emilee Malvehy (WF) def. Magdalena Bresson (W&M) – 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
No. 6 – Lauren Sabacinski (W&M) vs. Katarina Reveche (WF) – 2-6, 6-3, 2-1 abandoned
Finishing Order: 2, 1, 4, 5, 3*

Doubles
No. 1 - #46 Moulton-Levy/Zoricic (W&M) def. Hirsch/Malvehy (WF) – 8-2
No. 2 – Kulikova/Poske (WF) def. Acharya/Kasztelaniec (W&M) – 8-6
No. 3 – Bresson/Sabacinski (W&M) def. Loeb/Tara (WF) – 8-3
Finishing Order: 1, 3*, 2