The Emory women’s tennis team continued their strong start to the season at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) South Regional Championships from Sept. 27 to 29 in Rome, Ga., by taking home both the singles and doubles titles. Freshman Alexa Goetz performed particularly well at the tournament, taking home the singles title and the doubles title with sophomore Christina Watson.
“I was really nervous going in as a freshman,” Goetz said, “I wanted to prove myself to my coaches and my team.”
The first day of the tournament, the Eagles came out strong with 10 players winning their opening matches and advancing to the round of 16. Junior Sasha Hartje outplayed Rhodes College’s (Tenn.) Lea Letourneau 2-6, 6-3, 10-8 and went on to top North Carolina Wesleyan College’s Jules Johnson via retirement after taking the first set 6-2. All singles players played strong matches, with eight of the 10 winning in straight sets.
The Eagles also triumphed in doubles, as all five teams made the quarterfinals. Sophomore Lauren Yoon and junior Stephanie Taylor nearly swept Piedmont College’s (Ga.) Caroline Connelly and Megan Waldheim 8-1. Junior Defne Olcay and sophomore Emma Cartledge claimed a hard fought 8-7 (2) victory against Emma Smith and Taylor Sprouse from Sewanee: The University of the South (Tenn.).
The Eagles continued to outplay the competition on the second day of competition. In singles, Goetz bested teammates Hartje 6-0, 6-0 and sophomore Jessica Fatemi 6-2, 6-4, earning Goetz a spot in the semifinals. Watson defeated the remaining Sewanee players with victories over Morgan Downing 6-1, 6-1 and Smith 7-6 (1), 3-6, 6-1.
In doubles, the Eagles claimed the whole bracket, setting the stage for an all-Emory final. Goetz and Watson topped Millsaps College (Miss.) Grace Gaskins and Morris Kelly Clayton 8-2 and then went on to eliminate teammates Fatemi and junior Katie Chang 8-2 in the semifinals. Olcay and Cartledge came out on top after beating Hartje and freshman Stephanie Shulman 8-3, before defeating Yoon and Taylor 8-5, in the semifinals.
The Eagles had the titles all but locked down by the final day of the tournament. Goetz topped teammate Olcay in the semifinals 6-4, 7-5 before besting Cartledge 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 to extend Emory’s now 18-year tradition of taking home the ITA South singles title. Goetz continued to dominate the tournament in doubles, teaming up with Watson to beat teammates Olcay and Cartledge 6-0, 6-1, taking home Emory’s 13th consecutive ITA South doubles title.
Assistant Coach Barbora Krtickova was very proud of her team’s success and has high hopes specifically for Goetz.
“[Goetz] is a very hard worker,” Krtickova said, “[She] devotes a lot of time to thinking about the game and how she can improve. … She has a bright future ahead of her.”
Goetz was very proud of her and her team’s performance and is excited for her upcoming season at Emory.
“Overall I just think the whole team should be really proud of their performance,” Goetz said. “I’m looking forward to the next three years.”
The Eagles will play next on Oct. 11 at the Georgia Southern Fall Shootout in Statesboro, Ga.
