Interview with Coach Browning and Will Wanner
The Emory men's tennis team will play for the NCAA D-III Championship following a Tuesday victory over Johns Hopkins in the semifinal round. The Eagles won for the fourth straight time and raised their overall record to 9-3 following a 5-1 decision over the Blue Jays who ended their campaign at 11-1. The Championships are being held in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and hosted by the University of the South.
For the second straight day, Emory took command of the match by sweeping doubles. At No. 2, senior Will Wanner and junior Andrew Esses cruised to an 8-1 win over Daniel Ardila and Arjun Asokumar, raising their record to 5-0. Sahil Raina and Nolan Shah landed a point at the No. 3 slot with an 8-3 verdict against Eric Yoo and Vishnu Joshi. The No. 1 tandem of seniors Hayden Cassone and Alec Rabinowitz rounded out that portion of the match with a spirited 8-7 (7-4) triumph over James and Thomas Yu.
Following the same script from the quarters against Brandeis, Wanner pushed the Eagles to a 4-0 cushion following an impressive 6-1, 6-1 outcome against James Yu at No. 4 singles, his third straight victory and sixth in 10 decisions this spring. After JHU picked up its lone point of the afternoon at the No. 1 spot, freshman Nolan Shah closed out the contest at No 6 singles, bettering Andrew Tran, 6-3, 6-3.
The Eagles will meet fellow University Athletic Association member Case Western Reserve for the title on Wednesday at 3:00 pm. The Spartans battled their way into the finals after rallying for a 5-4 win over Washington University in the semifinals. Emory will be looking to defend its title from 2019 (no championship last year) shooting for the program's sixth-ever national crown.