The Emory women’s tennis team continued their flawless streak with wins over Sewanee: The University of the South (Tenn.) on March 1, Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (Calif.) on March 2 and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (Calif.) on March 3. The Eagles dominated with 9-0, 9-0 and 5-3 victories, respectively, and secured the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Indoor Championship against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in Nashville, Tenn.
In singles, Emory refused to surrender one set to Sewanee. Freshman Lauren Yoon went to a tie-break in the first set of her match, but easily won the second set to take a 7-6, 6-1 win. Freshman Jessica Fatemi ended the day with a 6-0, 6-4 win in sixth singles.
Facing Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, the Eagles once again swept competition. Sophomore Ysabel Gonzalez-Rico took a 6-2, 6-3 win for first singles and sophomore Defne Olcay wrapped up the match with a 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 victory.
Against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, singles players faced stiff competition. Although sophomore Stephanie Taylor lost 6-3, 6-1, Olcay and Fatemi brought the Eagles back with 6-4, 6-4 and 7-6, 6-2 victories, respectively. Freshman Emma Cartledge took a 7-6, 6-4 victory in the final match to win the ITA National Indoor Championship.
The doubles teams saw similar success. At Sewanee, senior Daniela Lopez and Cartledge won the opening match with an 8-1 victory. Taylor and freshman Christina Watson finished up the doubles matches with an 8-4 victory.
Gonzalez-Rico and Olcay swept Pomona-Pitzer College in an 8-2 win, while Taylor and Watson rounded off doubles matches with an 8-5 win.
At Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Gonzalez-Rico and Olcay took an 8-3 defeat, the Eagles secured victory as Watson and Taylor and Lopez and Cartledge scored 8-1 and 8-3 victories, respectively.
Yoon said she had fun at the tournament and felt proud of her tennis family.
“This tournament was fun to play, especially since the team feels like a family,” Yoon said. “I’m proud of what we accomplished this past weekend. … I think that this tournament has given us a taste of what it’s like to compete at a national level together, and we’re ready to continue our hard work.”
Head Coach Amy Bryant expressed delight with the hard-fought battle against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps but knew that the team must look forward.
“Playing Claremont-Mudd-Scripps is always a battle and it was exciting to come out on top of this one,” Bryant said. “We’re keeping the big picture in mind though; we have a lot of season in front of us.”
Emory holds strong at a 6-0 season record and will host Millsaps College (Miss.) on March 8.
