The Emory Athletics weekly preview for March 18th through March 24th. This preview is to serve as a weekly snapshot of all upcoming athletic events for the coming week.
Swimming and Diving:
After competing in a variety of meets spanning from October to this month, it all comes down to this week for the Emory swimming and diving teams. The 2024 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships will take place this week in Greensboro, North Carolina as the men's team looks to defend its title and win its third straight national title and the women hope to return to the top of the podium after finishing second in back-to-back meets. Emory saw 38 Eagles qualify for the event, with 20 women and 18 men making the trip. To see the full list of athletes heading to Greensboro, please click here.
The men enter the meet as the No. 1 ranked team in the latest CSCAA dual meet rankings and are fresh off their 25th straight UAA Championship. The Eagles bring plenty of championship pedigree to the event, returning a number of swimmers from the past two years' championship teams. Leading the way for the Eagles are a trio of seniors Ryan Soh, Jake Meyer, and Nicholas Goudie. The three, joined by junior Jeff Echols, set a new conference meet record at the UAA Championships in the 400-medley relay with a time of 3:11.15. Junior Crow Corsen also secured a 400 IM with a program record time of 3:51.18 at the UAA Championships last month. Emory will look to continue riding high and secure their third-straight NCAA National Championship.
The women come into the meet with a No. 4 overall ranking in the latest CSCAA poll, also winning their 25th consecutive conference championship. Senior Megan Jungers has experienced a successful final season in the Blue and Gold, earning two UAA Individual Championships last month, both coming in backstroke events. The Eagles dominate the backstroke on the women's side, seeing four Eagles place inside of the top-seven at the UAA Championships. Senior Sloan Donovan defended her crown in the 1,650 Freestyle at UAAs when she posted a time of 16:50.52. A few rookies have turned heads, notably Katie Cohen making her marks this season as she won the conference championship in the 200 Breaststroke. The women are looking to return to the top of the podium after finishing the last two seasons as runner-up.
The NCAA Championships will get started on Wednesday morning, March 20th, at the Greensboro Aquatics Center before wrapping up on Saturday, March 23rd. The Old Dominion Athletic Conference will host the national championships.
When/Where:
- Wednesday, March 20th-Saturday, March 23rd – NCAA Swimming and Diving National Championships – Greensboro Aquatic Center (Greensboro, NC)
Coverage:
Baseball:
The Emory baseball team (10-9) will play its final stretch of non-conference games this week when it gets another shot at No. 11 ranked Birmingham-Southern on Tuesday before playing a two-game set with Wooster on Friday and Saturday. After dropping three of their last four, the Eagles are looking to bounce back this week.
The Eagles are led by junior Jack Halloran, appearing in 18 games this season for Emory. Primarily serving as the team's DH and hitting in the cleanup spot, Halloran is hitting .460 and has driven in a team-high 27 runs. His 27 RBIs is among the most in the country, as he sits sixth in Division III in the category. The junior isn't just racking up singles, he's leading the team in slugging-percentage at a mark of .746.
Close behind is his classmate, Matthew Sicoli, who has provided a spark at the plate while manning centerfield for the Eagles. Sicoli is hitting .333 and is right behind the Halloran in RBIs with 23, which places him tied for 22nd in the nation as well. He knocked in eight in a single game just a few weeks ago in Emory's 16-10 win over Covenant, tying the program record for most RBIs in a single game. The junior is leading the Eagles in doubles, with eight.
The Eagles gave one of the best teams in the nation a run for its money last week when they fell to the Birmingham-Southern Panthers 11-10 in extra innings. The Panthers slugged three home runs in the opening two innings, giving them an early 5-0 lead. Yet, the Eagles rallied back over the next several innings to tie it up at seven runs apiece in the sixth. When the Panthers took another lead with a three-run seventh, the Eagles reciprocated and tied the game back up at 10.
Despite multiple rallies, the Eagles went down in extras, 11-10. Luckily for Emory, they only had to wait one week before they got another crack at the Panthers. Since beating the Eagles, Birmingham-Southern played four games, going 2-2 over that span. The Panthers' pitching staff doesn't lack in command, either, having one of the nation's top strikeout-to-walk ratios in the country at 2.70. The BSC offense fell a bit stagnant after taking on Emory, scoring seven runs over its next three games. But the Panther offense came back alive this past weekend in their 13-8 win over Lyon.
Next up for the Eagles are the red-hot Wooster Fighting Scots, who have won seven of their last eight. Wooster is coming off a very successful trip to Florida, where they won all five of their games and outscored their opponents 39-18 during the trip. The team is hitting an impressive .309 this season and racking up extra-base hits in the process. The Fighting Scots are tied for 24th in the nation in doubles per game, with more than two per contest.
Sophomore infielder Ryan Kramer is leading the way for Wooster, appearing in all 12 games with a .449 batting average and slugging four home runs. The sophomore is averaging nearly two RBIs per game, with 21 this season. Senior pitcher Corey Knauf has been the ace for the Wooster staff this season, starting three games and owning a team-best 2.84 ERA and .95 WHIP over 19.0 innings of work. He's missed a lot of bats this year too, owning a 10.42 K/9 mark.
Wooster will take on a pair of other Georgia teams this week, LaGrange and Piedmont, before making the trip to Atlanta. The Eagles and Fighting Scots have met just five times before, with the last meeting coming in 1997. The two will renew their series this weekend when Wooster makes the trip to Chappell Park in Atlanta.
When/Where:
- Tuesday, March 19th – vs Birmingham-Southern – 3:00 PM – Chappell Park (Atlanta, GA)
- Friday, March 22nd – vs Wooster – 3:00 PM – Chappell Park (Atlanta, GA)
- Saturday, March 23rd – vs Wooster – 1:00 PM – Chappell Park (Atlanta, GA)
Coverage:
- Birmingham-Southern
- Wooster
- Game 1
- Game 2
Men's Tennis:
The No. 1 ranked Emory men's tennis team (7-1) will head to Texas this weekend for a pair of matches with No. 16 ranked Amherst and No. 14 ranked Trinity before returning to Georgia to face off against Berry. The Eagles are coming off a thrilling win last week over No. 10 Denison where graduate student Justin Waldman experienced his biggest win of his Emory career when he picked up a win in the final singles match to secure a 5-4 win for the Eagles.
Emory suffered its first dual match loss of the season last week when it fell to NAIA powerhouse Georgia Gwinnett but rebounded with an emotional and gritty win over Denison.
The Eagles have gotten some help from new faces this spring. Freshman Christian Liew has been a mainstay in the Emory rotation, playing primarily in the No. 4 and 5 singles positions. Liew has been dominant, owning a 7-1 record in singles play to start his collegiate career. Liew has taken the doubles court alongside senior Samuel Dean this season, where the two boast a 4-2 record this season. Waldman has made an impact early on as well, most notably in his match against Denison. The graduate transfer from Air Force has played in two matches this spring, winning both.
Meanwhile, the Eagles' top returners are still performing at a high level. Sophomore Dean Kamenev and senior Nolan Shah have been rock solid in the No. 2 doubles position, going 7-0 to start their spring campaign. Kamenev has taken the No. 1 singles spot in the rotation this spring, going 5-2 this year. His doubles partner, Shah, is 6-2 this season, playing primarily in the No. 2 position.
Seniors Brandon Cohen and Ryan Glanville are also on a hot streak on court one, winning their last five matches to bring their record as a tandem this spring to 6-1.
Emory started its spring on the right note when it won the ITA National Team Indoor Championship. The top-ranked Eagles are searching for the program's seventh national title this season and will continue to work towards that goal this weekend.
The matches in Texas this weekend will be played on Trinity's courts. Emory will start with Amherst on Thursday at 2:00 PM and Trinity on Friday at 4:00 PM. The match against Berry is scheduled to start at 11:00 AM on Sunday.
When/Where:
- Thursday, March 21st – vs Amherst – 2:00 PM – Butch Newman Tennis Center (Trinity, TX)
- Friday, March 22nd – at Trinity – 4:00 PM – Butch Newman Tennis Center (Trinity, TX)
- Sunday, March 24th – at Berry – 11:00 AM – Rome Tennis Center (Rome, GA)
Coverage:
- Amherst
- TBA
- Trinity
- Berry
- TBA
Track and Field:
The Emory track and field teams will host their second outdoor meet in Atlanta in as many weeks this weekend. The Eagles will head back to Morehouse College for the Emory Thrills in the Hills meet, starting on Friday and wrapping up on Saturday. During the meet, the Eagles plan to honor their senior class.
The men's team is coming off a very strong performance last week, where they finished first out of 18 teams. Senior Kenya Sei paved the way for the men, breaking yet another program record, this time in the hammer throw. He recorded a distance of 57.60m to shatter his own record of 54.96m. He followed up his strong performance on day one with a third-place finish in the discus with a distance of 42.26m. Graduate student Aiden Gilbert also had a strong showing on the field, finishing second in the long jump with a distance of 6.64m.
Sophomore Nikhil Makker had a solid performance in the 1500m, finishing second with a time of 3:57.17. Junior Jonathan Orelowitz earned points for Emory as well in the 3000m steeplechase, finishing third and clocking in at 10:00.03.
The women finished third at the event, tallying 102 points. Freshman Mable Mutumwa saw success in the javelin with a distance of 38.57m, good for second place. Fellow rookie, Hannah Riley, had an impressive day on the field as well, finishing second in the pole vault with a 3.45m height.
Senior Lily Taylor saw a first-place finish last weekend, coming in the 800m event. The senior raced to the finish line, clicking in at 2:13.72. The 4x100m relay team comprised of graduate student Nikki Boon and juniors Dashiel Tao Harris, Audrey Johnson and Kaya Binetti took first with a time of 47.00 seconds.
When/Where:
- Friday, March 22nd-Saturday, March 23rd – Emory Thrills in the Hills – Morehouse College (Atlanta, GA)
Coverage:
- TBA
Men's Golf:
After taking a couple of weeks off from competition, the No. 1 ranked Emory men's golf team will travel to its second event of the spring at the Jekyll Island Collegiate at King and Prince in St. Simons Island, Georgia. The Eagles spent several weeks ranked as the No. 2 team in the nation, but after a strong showing at the Savannah Invitational, Emory vaulted Methodist to take over the top-spot in the Scoreboard rankings.
The Eagles placed second at the Savannah Invitational, receiving a strong all-around performance at the event and seeing four golfers finish in the top-15. Emory's three-round score came to 844 (-20), just three strokes off the winner, to take second place in Savannah.
Once again leading the way for Emory was senior Jackson Klutznick, who was named to the All-Tournament team for his performance. The senior turned in a three-round score of 206 (-10) to see himself finish just one stroke off the winner.
Sophomore Brian Hanson made his return to the starting lineup for Emory, doing so in impressive fashion. The underclassman shot a three-round score of 212 (-4), including a 69 (-3) in the final round, to finish in 11th place. Juniors Michael Burry and Tony Li both rounded out Emory's scorecards with three-round scores of 214 (-2), as the two tied for 13th place.
Emory has recent success at the Jekyll Island Collegiate, winning the event last year and setting a new Jekyll Island tournament record with a three-round score of 842. The Eagles won the tournament by an impressive 15 strokes, with Klutznick, Li and Burry all finishing on the podium.
This year's event features 10 teams ranked inside of the top-25, including three of the top-five teams with Oglethorpe and Illinois Wesleyan set to make the trip alongside Emory.
Emory will look to defend their No. 1 ranking and 2023 Jekyll Island championships this weekend as they get set to compete in a 54-hole event spanning three days, playing 18 holes each day. Golfers will tee off Friday morning before wrapping up on Sunday. The event will be played at the King and Prince Golf Course's Par 71, 6515-yard course.
When/Where:
- Friday, March 22nd-Sunday, March 24th – Jekyll Island Collegiate, King and Prince Golf Course (St. Simons Island, GA)
Coverage:
Women's Tennis:
The No. 7 ranked Emory women's tennis team (6-4) will return home this week after spending the past month on the road. The Eagles most recently went west over spring break to compete against some of the nation's top teams. Emory went 2-2 on their excursion to the west coast, with wins over No. 10 ranked Redlands and No. 4 ranked Middlebury. With the road trip in the rearview mirror, Emory will welcome No. 8 ranked Johns Hopkins, No. 20 ranked Tufts, and No. 34 ranked Colby to Atlanta to start their homestand.
A group of underclassmen have led the way for Emory this spring. Sophomore Emily Kantrovitz has played each of her matches in the No. 1 position and is riding a seven-match winning streak into the homestand. Meanwhile, her classmate Iris Berman has won eight of her last nine singles matches, playing primarily out of the No. 5 position. A rookie, Yanire Marte, has made an impact this season as well, as she also boasts a seven-match winning streak.
Senior Ilayda Baykan had a positive end to her trip, winning her singles matches before returning home. Her classmate, Ana Cristina Perez has been strong in doubles play alongside Kantrovitz. The two own a 5-5 record this year in the No. 1 spot and won their last match against #4 Middlebury.
The Eagles' spring season marches on this weekend with the three matches at home on deck. The Eagles will start with No. 8 ranked Johns Hopkins on Friday, then take on No. 20 ranked Tufts on Saturday before wrapping up with No. 34 ranked Colby on Sunday. Prior to the match against Colby, the Eagles will honor their seniors, Perez and Baykan, with their senior day festivities.
When/Where:
- Friday, March 22nd – vs Johns Hopkins – 11:00 AM – Woodruff P.E. Center (Atlanta, GA)
- Saturday, March 23rd – vs Tufts – 10:00 AM - Woodruff P.E. Center (Atlanta, GA)
- Sunday, March 24th – vs Colby – 12:00 PM - Woodruff P.E. Center (Atlanta, GA)
- Senior Day
Coverage:
Softball:
Coming off a week in which it went 4-2, the Emory softball team (10-6) will hit the road to play against LaGrange in a doubleheader on Friday. After dropping both games of their doubleheader against Illinois Wesleyan on Saturday, the Eagles bounced back on Sunday to sweep Agnes Scott.
The Emory offense is led by the top-three in the lineup, with sophomore Ashley Chu, senior Page Nellis and freshman Ellie Zerr at the top of the offensive categories. Chu has excelled at setting the table for her teammates, starting in all 16 games, and owning a jaw dropping .540 average. The sophomore has also been impressive on the basepaths, stealing 16 bases on 17 attempts. In the two-hole, Nellis is hitting .465, with three doubles and two triples on the year to go with 14 RBIs.
Zerr wasted no time getting adjusted to the collegiate level, as she's turned in an impressive .431 batting average while slugging .824 as a rookie. She has a team-high six doubles and four home-runs to go along with 30 RBIs. The freshman is averaging nearly two RBIs per game this season as she leads the Eagles offense, hitting out of the three spot in the lineup.
Sophomore Mackenzie Duford has served as Emory's ace this year, owning an ERA of 3.44 over 40.2 innings of work. She has held opponents to a team best .253 batting average and has only surrendered one home run this year.
LaGrange enters their game against Emory riding a three-game winning streak. The Panthers recent success snaps a stretch where they went 1-12. The Panthers' offense came alive last week when they scored 23 runs in three games to get back on track. Alexa Gonzalez leads the LaGrange offense, batting .394 with three home runs and 21 RBIs this year. Gonzalez has five hits in her last 11 at-bats, with a home run and seven RBIs in her last three games.
The Eagles hold a dominant 56-10 record against the Panthers and have won 12 straight dating back to 2012. Emory will look to extend that streak to 14 when they take on LaGrange in a doubleheader on Friday.
When/Where:
- Friday, March 22nd – at LaGrange – 4:00 PM / 6:00 PM – LC Softball Complex (LaGrange, GA)
Coverage:
- Game 1
- Game 2