William & Mary And UNCW Advance To CAA Women's Tennis Championship Match
Rob Washburn
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (April 22, 2023) – Top-seeded William & Mary rallied past No. 4 Elon, 4-3, and No. 6 UNCW defeated No. 7 Drexel, 4-0, in the semifinals of the 2023 CAA Women’s Tennis Championship on Saturday at the Mackesy Tennis at the Millie West Courts on the campus of William & Mary.
The Tribe and Seahawks will meet at 2 p.m. on Sunday for the CAA title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Women’s Tennis Championship.
In a rematch of last year’s title match, Elon jumped out to an early 1-0 lead by capturing the doubles point. The Phoenix’s top team of Sibel Tanik and Lizette Reding defeated Sofiya Kuzina and Ine Stange, 6-2, and Elon’s No. 3 duo of Olivia Archer and Miray Konar topped Hedda Gurholt and Emma Pell, 6-3.
W&M (14-5) pulled even when Gurholt beat Tanik, 6-1, 6-4 at No. 1 singles. Elon (16-7) responded with a 6-1, 6-0 triumph by Archer over Stange at No. 5 and a 6-1, 6-3 win by Reding over Elisa Van Meeteren at No. 2 that put the Phoenix ahead 3-1. However, the Tribe battled back with Pell downing Konar, 6-3, 6-2 at No. 6 and Emma Fernald holding off Julie Ball, 6-3, 7-5 at No. 4. The match was decided on Court 3, where Kuzina rallied from a 5-2 deficit against Helen Sarikulaya to take the opening set, 7-5, and then took the final set 6-2 to send W&M to the championship match for the eighth consecutive year.
UNCW (13-8) started strong by winning the doubles point for the third straight day. The Seahawks’ No. 3 tandem of Stela Joksimovic and Meredith Taylor downed Mya Fuentes and Cristina Corte Gonzalez, 6-1, and the No. 2 duo of Anna Daniels and Zoe Huffman got by Isabel Cabrerizo and Aida Garcia Mendez, 6-4.
The Seahawks continued the momentum in singles, taking the opening set in all six matches. Joksimovic defeated Corte Gonzalez, 6-2, 6-2 at No. 5 and Eda Arli bested Renata Lombera, 6-4, 6-1 at No. 2. UNCW clinched the match at No. 4, as Lauren Gish beat Fuentes, 6-3, 6-3.
William & Mary is in the championship match for the 26
th time in the past 28 years and is seeking its league-record 28
th title. UNCW is in the championship match for the fourth time overall and first since 2017, when it was also a No. 6 seed. The Seahawks won their only CAA title in 2014.
#1 William & Mary 4, #4 Elon 3
Singles
#1 Hedda Gurholt (W&M) d. Sibel Tanik (EU), 6-1, 6-4
#2 Lizette Reding (EU) d. Elisa Van Meeteren (W&M), 6-1, 6-3
#3 Sofiya Kuzina (W&M) d. Helen Sarikulaya (EU), 7-5, 6-2
#4 Emma Fernald (W&M) d. Julie Ball (EU), 6-3, 7-5
#5 Olivia Archer (EU) d. Ine Stange (W&M), 6-1, 6-0
#6 Emma Pell (W&M) d. Miray Konar (EU), 6-3, 6-2
Order of Finish: 1, 5, 2, 6, 4, 3*
Doubles
#1 Tanik/Reding (EU) d. Kuzina/Stange (W&M), 6-2
#2 Van Meeteren/Fernald (W&M) vs. Ball/Madison Cordisco (EU) – DNF, 3-5
#3 Archer/Konar (EU) d. Gurholt/Pell (W&M), 6-3
Order of Finish: 3, 1*
#6 UNCW 4, #7 Drexel 0
#1 Zoe Huffman (UNCW) vs. Lorie Lemongo (DU) – DNF, 6-4, 3-3
#2 Eda Arli (UNCW) d. Renata Lombera (DU), 6-4, 6-1
#3 Anna Daniels (UNCW) vs. Isabel Cabrerizo (DU) – DNF, 6-0, 3-6, 4-1
#4 Lauren Gish (UNCW) d. Mya Fuentes (DU), 6-3, 6-3
#5 Stela Joksimovic (UNCW) d. Cristina Corte Gonzalez (DU), 6-2, 6-2
#6 Gabbie Glickstein (UNCW) vs. Aida Garcia Mendez (DU), 6-2, 1-6, 0-3
Order of Finish: 5, 2, 4*
Doubles
#1 Gish/Arli (UNCW) vs. Lemongo/Lombera (DU) – DNF, 3-5
#2 Huffman/Daniels (UNCW) d. Cabrerizo/Garcia Mendez (DU), 6-4
#3 Joksimovic/Meredith Taylor (UNCW) vs. Fuentes/Corte Gonzalez (DU), 6-1
Order of Finish: 3, 2*