Tribe Shuts Out No. 64 Colorado

W&M won its third straight match over a nationally ranked opponent, improving to 7-3.

02/16/08 7:15PM

Williamsburg - The No. 16 William and Mary women’s tennis team took its third straight victory over a ranked opponent Saturday, shutting out No. 64 Colorado, 7-0, at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center. The victory avenged a 4-3 loss last season at Colorado - a true avenging considering both teams’ rosters are nearly identical to those of last season. The loss last season snapped the Tribe’s 11-match season-opening win streak. This year’s win upped the Tribe’s overall record to 7-3.

The Tribe jumped on the doubles point quickly, taking two of the three doubles matches after 30 minutes of play. The No. 46-ranked Tribe team of Megan Moulton-Levy and Kat Zoricic took the first win of the afternoon, downing juniors Monica Milewski and Franziska Jendrian at the No. 1 position, 8-1. The win was the 15th of the season for the reigning NCAA runners-up. They have won seven of their last eight, including a win over the No. 3-ranked doubles team in the nation from Notre Dame, at the ITA National Team Indoors.

The sophomore duo Ragini Acharya and Lauren Sabacinski displayed impressive hustle, worthy of their membership in the Tribe’s “Fab 4” Class of 2010 and dropped Colorado seniors Veera Nurmi and Victoria Almagno, 8-2, at the No. 3 position. It was the fourth straight win for the underclassmen, who are now 9-1 in their Tribe careers playing doubles together, including a 5-1 mark this year.

Juniors Klaudyna Kasztelaniec and Barb Zidek took the final doubles match over Camila Belassi and Gleisy Torres-Torres, 8-7, in a match where neither team ever had a lead of more than one game. The final tie-break score was a hairsplitting, 8-6. Kasztelaniec and Zidek’s fight to the end earned them their fifth win of the season.

In singles, the Tribe wasted no time, scoring quick wins at the top three positions to seal the match. Acharya, ranked 55th in the nation, finished first, disposing of Torres-Torres at the No. 3 position, 6-1, 6-0, for her 55th collegiate singles victory. Moulton-Levy was not far behind, scoring her seventh win in the last eight matches with a 6-0, 6-1 avenging of last year’s loss to Milewski at No. 1. Zoricic clinched the win for the Tribe at No. 2, downing Belassi, 6-3, 6-1.

In the remaining singles action, the Tribe proved unsatisfied with a mere match victory, and came away with some hard-fought wins at positions 4, 5, and 6. At No. 6, Zidek, though a 6-1 winner in her first set over Jendrian, had to battle for the ultimate victory, taking the second set 7-5 for her fifth victory of the season. Sabacinski battled back from a 3-2 deficit in the second set, winning four of the last five games to win her match over Nurmi at No. 5, 6-3, 6-4.

Kasztelaniec had the final and most dramatic win for the Tribe at No. 4. After winning her first set 6-1, the Krakow, Poland, native was forced to earn her second set victory with extra sweat in a tiebreak. Her Colorado opponent, Melisa Esposito, took the first two points and seemed to have the momentum in her control. However, Kasztelaniec rebounded, winning six straight points and seven of the last eight to win the tiebreak 7-3, and thereby the match.

The victory is William and Mary’s third shutout of a nationally ranked opponent. The only other team in the national Top 25 with that many 7-0 shutouts is No. 1-ranked Georgia Tech. The No. 16 Tribe will look to prolong their perfection at home with their last home indoor match of the season. They will welcome the Harvard Crimson to Williamsburg on Monday, Feb. 18. The match is slated for 1:00 p.m. at the McCormack-Nagelsen Tennis Center.

Story by Aaron J. Gregory, Student Assistant

#16 William and Mary 7, #64 Colorado 0
Singles
No. 1 – #12 Megan Moulton-Levy (W&M) def. Monica Milewski (CU) – 6-0, 6-1
No. 2 – #83 Katarina Zoricic (W&M) def. Camila Belassi (CU) – 6-3, 6-1
No. 3 – #55 Ragini Acharya (W&M) def. Gleisy Torres Torres (CU) – 6-1, 6-0
No. 4 – Klaudyna Kasztelaniec (W&M) def. Melisa Esposito (CU) – 6-1, 7-6 (3)
No. 5 – Lauren Sabacinski (W&M) def. Veera Nurmi (CU) – 6-3, 6-4
No. 6 – Barbara Zidek (W&M) def. Franziska Jendrian (CU) – 6-1, 7-5
Finishing Order: 3, 1, 2*, 6, 5, 4

Doubles
No. 1 - #46 Moulton-Levy/Zoricic (W&M) def. Milewski/Jendrian (CU) – 8-1
No. 2 – Kasztelaniec/Zidek (W&M) def. Belassi/Torres-Torres (CU) – 8-7 (6)
No. 3 – Acharya/Sabacinski (W&M) def. Nurmi/Victoria Almagno (CU) – 8-2
Finishing Order: 1, 3*, 2