The No. 2-ranked Emory men's tennis team has advanced to the finals of the NCAA Division III Men's Championships for first time since 2012 and the ninth occasion in school history following an exciting Tuesday evening triumph over Bowdoin College in the semifinals. The NCAA Championships are being held in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Eagles won their 13th straight match and raised their overall record to 21-4 following a 5-2 victory over the No. 7 Polar Bears, who closed out their season at 22-5.
For the second straight match, Emory trailed by a 2-1 margin following doubles. Bowdoin notched the first point of the contest at No. 2 when Kyle Wolfe and Yangeng Jian defeated the Eagles tandem of junior Max Renke and sophomore Adrien Bouchet, 8-5, ending the Emory duo's three-match winning streak while dropping their record to 16-8. However, Emory bounced back to knot the match score when junior Scott Rubinstein and sophomore James Spaulding got a positive result at first doubles, topping Luke Tercek and Grant Urken, 8-5, for their 19th victory against 10 setbacks this season. The Polar Bears claimed the 2-1 edge following a win at No. 3 where Gil Roddy and Justin Patel escaped with a 9-8 (7-4) outcome over junior David Omsky and sophomore Jonathan Jemsion. Omsky and Jemison trailed by a 5-7 score before winning three straight games, which included a break that tied things up at 7-7. After the Emory tandem held serve to take an 8-7 lead, Bowdoin held its ensuing serve to force the breaker.
Senior Aman Manji got Emory off on the right foot in singles, notching a 6-1, 6-4, outcome over Luke Tercek at the No. 1 spot, tying the match at 2-2. The win was Manji's 28th on the year, tying the program's sixth-highest individual mark. Rubinstein bolstered the Emory effort with a solid performance at No. 6, bettering Luke Carstens, 6-3, 6-4, which gave the Eagles a 3-2 advantage. Bouchet then put Emory one point from clinching when he grinded out a 6-4, 7-5, triumph over Wolfe at the No. 3 position, raising his season record to 18-6 on the year. Jemison nailed down the win for Emory at second singles, clawing his way to a 6-3, 6-7, 6-4, triumph over Urken, his 25th win this year in 30 outings.
Emory will square off against No. 3-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (32-3) in Wednesday's finals, with that affair slated for a 2:00 pm start. The Stags moved into the championship tilt after rallying from a 0-3 deficit to stun No. 1-ranked Middlebury, 5-4, in the other semifinal. The Eagles of head coach John Browning will be gunning for the program's fourth national crown, having claimed the top spot in 2003, 2006 and 2012.
Jonathan Jemison's Match Point vs. Bowdoin