Tennis Falls to Local Rivals
The No. 2 Emory women’s tennis team lost their first two matches of the season this past weekend. The Eagles suffered a 6-3 loss at home to Georgia State University Feb. 10 and a 6-1 loss to Coastal Carolina University (S.C.) Feb. 11.
Senior Bridget Harding and freshman Ysabel Gonzalez-Rico won their doubles match 8-3 against Coastal Carolina, moving Harding to tie for fifth place all-time with 93 career victories. But Coastal Carolina won second and third doubles to claim the point. Gonzalez-Rico was the only Eagle to snag a singles win, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5).
Against Georgia State, Harding and Gonzalez-Rico won first doubles, while senior Anna Fuhr and freshman Stephanie Taylor claimed second doubles, both matches by a score of 8-5. Sophomore Emma Perelman won sixth singles for Emory in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1.
The team is set to play at home again Feb. 18 against Columbus State University (Ga.) at 1 p.m.
Georgia Gwinnett College swept the Emory men’s tennis team at home, 9-0, Feb. 11 in the Eagles’ first match of the season. Senior Scott Rubinstein and junior James Spaulding played to a close 8-6 loss in first doubles, matching the result of junior Jonathan Jemison and senior Max Renke in third doubles. The Eagles will face at home Feb. 17 Bluefield State College (W.Va.) at 10 a.m. and Xavier University of Louisiana at 3 p.m. — Alisha Compton
Softball Redeems in Rematch
The Emory softball team began their season by splitting a double-header against the Birmingham-Southern College (Ala.) Panthers Feb. 9. The Eagles came up short in the first game, losing 5-2, but came back to shut out the Panthers while putting up five runs of their own.
Both teams were tied at one run a piece heading into the top of the fifth of game one. It was then that the Panthers hit their stride and added four runs, enough to win the game 5-2.
In game two, junior pitcher Toko Miller stymied the Panthers, throwing a complete game shutout. Miller allowed only three hits, a walk and struck out five batters in seven innings of work. Sophomore catcher Greta Wilker put an exclamation point on the 5-0 victory with a solo homerun in the bottom of the third.
Emory will host Berry College (Ga.) in a double-header Feb. 17. — Stephen Mattes
Avant, Men’s Basketball Beat Buzzer
The Emory men’s basketball team tallied two crucial University Athletic Association (UAA) road wins this weekend, topping Carnegie Mellon University (Pa.) 82-80 Feb. 9 and Case Western Reserve University (Ohio) 75-72 Feb. 11. The wins improve Emory’s season record to 18-4 with a 9-2 UAA record. With three conference games remaining, the Eagles sit solidly at No. 2 in the UAA standings, just behind No. 1 Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.) (20-2, 11-0).
Emory held the last-place Carnegie Mellon Tartans at arms length for most of the contest, but the Tartans crept closer as the game progressed, tying the score at 80 after three clutch free throws from senior guard Ryan Maha with 13 seconds remaining. On the game’s final possession, senior center Christopher Avant put in the winning bucket with one second left on the clock, giving Emory the 82-80 victory. Senior forward Adam Gigax led the scoring with 27 points and junior guard Gebereal Baitey added 16 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
Sunday’s contest at Case Western was a nail-biter, fraught with lead changes. Two free throws from Emory freshman guard Romin Williams with 15 seconds remaining gave Emory a three-point advantage that held till the final buzzer. Williams finished with 20 points while senior guard Whitt Rapp nearly dropped a double-double, adding 10 points along with nine assists.
The team will face New York University Feb. 16 at home at 3 p.m.
— Kevin Kilgour
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