Tribe Caps Trip with 5-2 Upset of No. 18 Fresno State

Senior Megan Moulton-Levy, junior Klaudyna Kasztelaniec and sophomore Ragini Acharya tallied singles wins over nationally ranked foes in the College's win.

03/08/08 7:00AM

Fresno, Calif. - After a pair of close setbacks to top-10 foes, the No. 26 William and Mary women’s tennis team capped its California Spring Break trip with a 5-2 victory over No. 18-ranked Fresno State on Friday. The Tribe doubles team of senior Megan Moulton-Levy and junior Katarina Zoricic clinched the pairs point for the College with a win over the No. 4-ranked team nationally, while Moulton-Levy knocked off a top-10 singles foe and sophomore Ragini Acharya as well as junior Klaudyna Kasztelaniec notched individual wins over nationally ranked opponents. W&M upped its mark to 9-8 overall, while Fresno State fell to 7-5.

W&M took the opening point of the match as the College’s top doubles pair of Moulton-Levy and Zoricic upset the No. 4-ranked team nationally to clinch the point. Fresno State drew first blood in the pairs competition with a win at the No. 2 slot, before the Tribe tandem of sophomore Carmen Pop and Lauren Sabacinski pulled the College even with an 8-5 win over Jacqueline Haskett and Vanessa Heroux at the No. 3 position. It was the Green and Gold pair’s second win of the year.

Moulton-Levy and Zoricic downed its third straight nationally ranked opponent of the trip, upending No. 4-ranked Melanie Gloria and Tinesta Rowe, 9-7, to clinch the opening point for the Tribe. The win upped the pair’s season mark to 20-7 overall and was its second over a top-five team in the country this season. The tandem’s win was the 97th in the career of Zoricic and the 115th in Moulton-Levy’s career. It moved Zoricic into a tie for seventh on the career list with former W&M great Megan Muth, while Moulton-Levy is the school-recorder holder at 115.

After Fresno State pulled even in the tilt with the win at the No. 2 slot, W&M claimed the next three matches off the court to clinch the victory. Kasztelaniec, who has been playing some of her best tennis of late, knocked off her second nationally ranked foe of the trip, disposing of No. 115-ranked Rowe in straight sets, 6-0, 6-3. The triumph bumped her season mark to 19-9.

Acharya pushed her season ledger to 23-12 with a 6-4, 6-4 win over No. 122-ranked Renata Kucerkova at the No. 3 slot. It was her fourth win over a nationally ranked opponent this season. Fellow classmate Carmen Pop clinched the team victory with her third straight singles win, downing Bruna Paes, 7-5, 6-1, at the No. 6 position to improve to 7-5 on the season.

Moulton-Levy, who is ranked No. 11 nationally, capped the Tribe victory with her fourth career win over a national top-10 opponent. She avenged a loss from her only other career meeting with Melanie Gloria, downing the No. 9-ranked Bulldog foe in straight sets, 7-6 (8), 6-2. It is Moulton-Levy’s 11th win over a nationally ranked foe this season as she improved to 21-6 overall.

The College will return home for a three matches, March 21-29. W&M will host No. 55 Marshall on Friday, March 21, at 5 p.m., before welcoming Penn to Williamsburg on Sunday, March 23, at noon. The Green and Gold wrap up the home stretch against CAA-foe and No. 28-ranked VCU at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 29.

#26 William and Mary 5, #18 Fresno State 2
Singles
No. 1 - #11 Megan Moulton-Levy (W&M) def. #9 Melanie Gloria (FS) - 7-6 (8), 6-2
No. 2 - #13 Anastasia Petukhova (FS) def. #102 Katarina Zoricic (W&M) -
6-0, 6-3
No. 3 - #80 Ragini Acharya (W&M) def. No. 122 Renata Kucerkova (FS) - 6-4, 6-4
No. 4 - Klaudyna Kasztelaniec (W&M) def. No. 115 Tinesta Rowe (FS) - 6-0, 6-3
No. 5 - Jacqueline Haskett (FS) def. Lauren Sabacinkski (W&M) - 7-6 (0), 6-0
No. 6 - Carmen Pop (W&M) def. Bruna Paes (FS) - 7-5, 6-1
Finishing Order: 2, 4, 3, 6*, 5, 1

Doubles
1) #34 Moulton-Levy/Zoriac (W&M) def. #4 Gloria/Rowe (FS) - 9-7
2) #25 Petukhova/Kucerkova (FS) def. Acharya/Kasztelaniec (W&M) - 8-3
3) Pop/Sabacinski (W&M) def. Heroux/Haskett (FS) - 8-5
Order of Completion: 2, 3, 1*