D-III Women Break Emory Record at D-I Meet
The Emory men’s and women’s track and field teams competed at the Georgia Tech Invitational on April 21 as the only Division III team at the 16-team meet in a sea of several Division I teams.The women’s 4x400m relay team headlined the Eagles’ crusade as they finished in second place with a time of 3:44.64, a new Emory record, surpassing the old record of 3:45.92. The group consisted of juniors Dilys Osei and Dani Bland, sophomore Kaitlyn Leonard and senior Erica Goldman.
The women’s team also excelled in the 4x100m relay with Osei, Bland, Goldman and freshman Rebekah Bondi, posting a seventh-place time of 47.18, a season-best. The Eagles currently hold the top time in the 4x400m relay and fourth in the 4x100m relay in Division III national rankings.
In the individual events, the Eagles achieved multiple personal bests. Junior Kayla O’Shea ran a time of 2:17.26 in the 800m, freshman Thomas Perretta ran a time of 1:57.26 in the 800m and senior Benjamin Rogin recorded a time of 54.58 in the 400m hurdles.
The Eagles will compete next at the University Athletic Association (UAA) Outdoor Track and Field Championships on April 28 and 29 at Carnegie Mellon University (Pa.).
—Anirudh Pidugu
Tennis Tops Mammoths, Drops to Panthers
The No. 1 Emory men’s tennis team extended their win streak to seven in an 8-1 victory over No. 7 Amherst College (Mass.) on April 20 only to see it end with a 7-2 loss to No. 6 Middlebury College (Vt.) the next day.The Eagles dominated the doubles competition against the Amherst Mammoths on April 20. Senior Scott Rubinstein and junior James Spaulding stole the No. 1 spot, defeating the Mammoths 8-5. The No. 2 team of junior Adrien Bouchet and senior Max Renke sealed their runner-up title with an 8-3 victory. No. 3 partners junior Jonathan Jemison and freshman Hayden Cassone won their 11th straight match with an 8-0 Mammoth demolition.
In singles, Emory monopolized the chart once again, filling five out of the top six. No. 2 Cassone continued his win streak, adding an eighth, 6-4, 6-4. Seniors Alec Josepher and Andrew Harrington, Bouchet and Rubinstein followed on the scoreboard, letting only one Mammoth — No. 1 freshman Sean Wei — through the competition.
On April 21, the Eagles failed to keep up the momentum, falling 7-2 to the Middlebury Panthers in their first Division III loss in 13 matches.
The Panthers gained a 3-0 advantage in doubles competition, sweeping all three Emory pairs — Rubenstein/Spaulding, Bouchet/Renke and Jemison/Cassone. Middlebury junior Timo van der Geest and junior Peter Martin took third to snap Jemison and Cassone’s 11-match streak.
But the Eagles notched two wins on the singles scoreboard with the help of No. 5 Rubenstein (6-0, 6-7 (4-7), 10-4) and No. 6 Spaulding (6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (7-2), 11-9).
After the weekend, Emory retains the No. 1 spot in the division with a 14-3 ledger. The team next competes at the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships against the University of Rochester (N.Y.) on April 26.
—Annie Uichanco
Softball Wins With Season-High 15 Hits
The Emory softball team (23-9) split a doubleheader on April 19 against the Piedmont College (Ga.) Lions. After suffering a 4-0 shutout defeat in the first contest, the Eagles rallied to pound the Lions 11-3 in six innings during the nightcap.In the opening game, Piedmont junior pitcher Melissa Eckman produced a complete-game shutdown, allowing only five hits throughout the contest. With a two-run homer in the fourth inning and a two-RBI single in the sixth inning, the Lions took a 4-0 lead heading into the seventh. However, the Eagles threatened with the bases juiced in the bottom of the inning, but Eckman eventually got out of the jam.
During the nightcap, the Eagles dominated from the onset. In the first inning, a pair of RBI singles by freshman first baseman Allie Moberg and junior outfielder Sam Vincent gave the Eagles an early 3-0 lead. Sophomore Sarah Katz added another run with a sacrifice fly in the second.
The Eagles extended their lead to 7-1 in the fourth after RBIs by sophomore catcher Greta Wilker and Moberg. Then a four-run sixth inning closed the game and gave the Eagles an 11-3 victory. The Eagles finished with a season-high 15 hits while freshman pitcher Madison Schaefer picked up her first collegiate win in her complete-game effort.
The Eagles return to action on April 25 with a doubleheader against Georgia Gwinnett College.
—Joseph Oh
