2016-17 Emory Men's Tennis Recap

The 2016-17 edition of the Emory men’s tennis team enjoyed a year to remember with the squad hammering out a number of outstanding accomplishments, highlighted by a determined and emotional charge to the program’s fourth-ever national title.  The Eagles of head coach John Browning finished the campaign with a flourish, winning its last 14 matches en route to posting a final won-lost record of 22-4, while joining the 2003, 2006 and 2012 untis in the exclusive club of bringing home the national title to Atlanta.   Emory totaled a 19-1 slate against Division III foes.

Besides the national crown, Emory captured its third straight and 26^th University Athletic Association Championship in the past 30 years. The No. 1 seed entering the competition, the Eagles blanked Rochester, 9-0, in the quarterfinals before topping No. 7-ranked Carnegie Mellon in the semifinals.  In the title showdown, Emory put on a masterful display of tennis, rolling to an 8-1 decision over No. 6 Washington University.  The team had four singles representatives on the All-Tournament Team, senior Aman Manji, sophomores Jonathan Jemison and Adrien Bouchet and junior Scott Rubinstein, while Jemison and junior David Omsky earned a berth at third doubles.  In addition, Manji was tabbed as MVP of the Championships.

Emory opened the spring portion of the schedule by splitting four matches against NAIA competition. The Eagles ventured to Cleveland and defended its ITA National Indoor Championship, winning the title for the seventh time in the 17-year history of the event. The Eagles defeated No. 14 Trinity, 7-2, in the opening round before holding off No. 7 Carnegie Mellon by a 5-4 count in the semifinals. In the finals, Emory got the better of No. 5 Chicago, 5-1.

Upon its return from the Indoor Championships, Emory dropped a decision at Division I member Troy University.  The Eagles quickly regrouped and rattled off three straight home wins, one of which was a 5-4 nailbiter against No. 15 Amherst that saw Emory rally from a 2-4 deficit.

A trip to Texas was next on the docket which began with a 3-6 loss to No. 4 Middlebury on March 31, dropping the team’s spring ledger to 8-4.  However, that would be the Eagles’ final setback of the season as it went through April and May without a blemish. Emory closed out its trip with a 6-3 win over Trinity in a rematch of the ITA Indoors before posting an impressive 7-2 outcome over No. 2 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in a foreshadowing of a meeting that would take place in the postseason.

A trip to the nation’s capital saw Emory respond with a 5-2 verdict over Division I opponent Georgetown, followed by a 6-3 triumph at No. 5 Johns Hopkins.

After its first-place effort at UAAs, Emory was selected to host the first-, second- and third-rounds of the NCAA D-III Tournament. The Eagles made the most of the opportunity and, after receiving a first-round bye, defeated North Carolina Wesleyan, 5-1, in their first test before upending No. 22 Sewanee, 5-0, the following day, which propelled them into the championship round of the tourney.

Playing in nearby Chattanooga where rained forced a considerable among of action indoors, Emory opened its quest for glory with a hard-fought 5-3 win over No. 10 Williams.  The Eagles trailed the Ephs by a 2-1 count after doubles and saw the match deadlocked at 3-3 before Bouchet’s win at No. 3 singles put them one point from sealing the outcome.  That took place when junior Alec Josepher emerged with a 6-4, 6-4, outcome against Deepak Indrakanti at four singles.

Next up was a bout against No. 7 Bowdoin College, the program that knocked Emory out in the 2016 semifinals of the NCAA Championships. For the second straight day, the Eagles faced a 2-1 obstacle after doubles, but used stellar singles play in securing a 5-2 victory over the Polar Bears, with Jemison providing the clinching point in a grueling 6-3, 6-7, 6-4, decision over Grant Urken at the No. 2 position.

If Emory was to win the national championship, it would have register another win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, which entered the match with wins in 16 of its last 17 matches. The Eagles bolted out to a 3-0 lead over the No. 3-ranked Stags following a sweep of the doubles action, with the final point of that portion of the competition coming at the No. 1 slot where Rubinstein and James Spaulding won the final three games against Nikolai Parodi and Daniel Morkovine, breaking the CMS tandem twice, in coming away with an 8-6 victory. Emory held a 4-1 edge in the match after the teams split the first two outcomes in singles.  After the Stags crept to within 4-2 after winning at the No. 1 spot, the three remaining matches all went to third sets. Finally, Bouchet provided the clinching point at No. 3, rallying for a 5-7, 6-1, 7-5, verdict over Morkovine, breaking at 5-5 and then holding in the third set.

Following the team title, Manji and Jemison turned their attention to the singles portion of the Championships while Rubinstein and Spaulding took part in the doubles competition.  The No. 2 seed in the 32-player field, Manji fell in the opening round to Bowdoin’s Luke Tercek, which ended his campaign with a singles record of 28-7, tying the program’s sixth-highest seasonal victory total. The unseeded Jemison earned a first-round win, which allowed him to claim All-America distinction in singles, topping Skidmore’s Kai Yuen Leung in three sets, before coming out on the short end of a decision to Erik Kerrigan of Chicago in the Round of 16. On the year, Jemison hammered out a singles effort of 27-6.

In doubles, the Rubinstein/Spaulding tandem earned All-America honors for the second straight season by virtue of their No. 3 seed in the Championships.  The pair cemented their status by winning their opening-round match against Skidmore’s Leung and John Wynne.

Aman Manji turned in a banner final season, holding down the No. 1 singles spot in the lineup, and earning All-America honors after winning the singles crown at the ITA South Region Championships.  He followed that effort by becoming just the second different Emory player ever to win the singles title in the D-III portion of the ITA Oracle Cup (formerly the ITA Small College Championships).  Manji was the top-ranked Division III player for the majority of the season and played his way to a number of honors including Player of the Year recognition in the University Athletic Association. He closed out his career with 66 singles victories, good for 23^rd place on the school’s all-time ladder.  He finished 2016-17 as the No. 3-ranked singles player in Division III and No. 1 in the Atlantic South Region.  Manji distinguished himself off the court as well with his selection as the Division III recipient of the Arthur Ashe Leadership and Sportsmanship Award.  In addition, he captured Second Team Academic All-America recognition.

Jonathan Jemison continued his ascension as one of Division III’s bright young stars. During the fall portion of the schedule, he and junior David Omsky joined forces to earn All-America honors after winning the ITA South Region Doubles Championship. The pair continued on in the ITA Oracle Cup to win the Division III Doubles title, becoming just the second Emory tandem to earn that distinction. Jemison and Omsky would fashion an overall doubles slate of 23-7, 15-6 during the dual-meet portion of the schedule. In singles, Jemison concluded the season as the No. 12-ranked D-III singles player nationally and No. 3 in the Atlantic South Region. He was a fixture at No. 2 singles and compiled 21 of his season total of 27 wins at that position.  He brought home All-America kudos in singles for the second straight year after winning his opening-round match at the NCAA Championships. After two years in the program, Jemison has racked up a singles effort of 54-11 and his .830 winning percentage ranks fourth all-time in school history.

Scott Rubinstein and James Spaulding were the other Emory All-Americans with the duo teaming up for second straight season in doubles.  The pair garnered All-America status after being seeded third in the NCAA Championships, and proceeded to come away with an opening-round victory.  The Rubinstein/Spaulding tandem held down the No. 1 spot in the doubles lineup, posting a final overall ledger of 21-11, 17-9 during the spring portion of the schedule.  They concluded the year as the No. 4-ranked doubles team in Division III and first in the Atlantic South Region.

In addition to Manji, the other senior on the squad was Josh Goodman.  Goodman chalked up an overall singles performance of 19-5, including a dual mark of 16-4.  Career-wise, he amassed 59 singles wins, tying for 26^th place on the Eagles’ all-time chart.  

Emory players weren’t the only members of the program to earn recognition for the team’s outstanding season.  Head coach John Browning, along with assistants Rafe Mosetick and Ian Wagner, were chosen by their peers as the University Athletic Association Coaching Staff of the Year. 

Honors and Awards