Emory University garnered four University Athletic Association Athlete of the Week awards on Monday, October 18th as freshman Eliza McPherron and seniors Andrew Esses and Sahil Raina earned tennis honors and senior Max Schwarz claiming men's golf acclaim.
McPherron captured the ITA Cup Division III singles championship on Saturday, capping off an impressive weekend for the freshman in Rome, GA. McPherron went 4-0 as she made her way through the draw, defeating Carnegie Mellon's Crystal Zhou (7-6 (6), 6-0), Washington & Lee's Gabi Moss (4-6, 6-1, 6-0), Pomona-Pitzer's Nina Ye (6-2, 3-6, 6-3) and the top seed Sahana Raman from Middlebury (3-6, 7-5, 6-2) to win the title. McPherron is the eighth ITA Cup champion in women's tennis history and the third in the last five years.
Schwarz helped lead the Eagles to a first-place finish at the Tartan Invitational in Ligonier, PA on October 11th and 12th. Schwarz scored a three-over par 219 (71-73-75) at the 54-hole, par-72 tournament which was good for a tie for second place individual finish in the field of 66 golfers. The 13 birdies Schwarz hit over the course of the tournament led the field. Schwarz's performance helped lead the No. 3 ranked Eagles to a victory over nine teams ranked in the GCAA Coaches Poll including No. 1 Methodist.
Raina and Esses advanced to the semifinals in doubles at the ITA Cup this past weekend. The Emory duo knocked off teams from Mary Washington (6-3, 6-3) and Gustavus Adolphus (7-6 (4), 7-5) before falling to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 6-3, 6-2 in the semis. The duo closed out their fall with a record of 10-1.
It is the second weekly award for all four student-athletes this fall as well as the fourth career honor for Schwarz.