Emory University seniors Andrew Esses and Sahil Raina played their way to the ITA South Region Doubles title on Sunday in Rome, Georgia.
The pair went 5-0 over the weekend, culminating with a 6-3, 6-2, victory over teammates Sam Dean and Santiago Suarez in the finals.
Esses and Raina opened the ITA event with an 8-4 first-round decision over Berry College's Noah Koch and Diego Lopez. After topping the Sewanee duo of Quinn Wicklund and Gleb Ibraginow in their next outing, the Emory duo bettered another Sewanee team, Noah Holsclaw and Ryan Olps, 8-3, in the quarters. In the semis, Esses and Raina punched their ticket to the championship match with a 7-6, 6-3 verdict over JP Vallejo and Jhonny Acosta of North Carolina Wesleyan.
By virtue of their first-place finish, Esses and Raina earn All-America honors and will advance to the ITA Cup, Oct. 14-17, at the Rome Tennis Center.
In singles, senior Antonio Mora and sophomore Nolan Shah advanced to the semifinal round where both came up short. North Carolina Wesleyan's Acosta defeated Mora, 6-4, 6-1, while Jordan Theron came away with a 6-2, 6-4 outcome over Shah.
Next up for the Eagles is a trip to the Grizzly Open, hosted by Georga Gwinnett College, Oct. 8-10.