The No. 3 ranked Emory men's tennis team (13-4) traveled to Athens, Tennessee to take on the NAIA's third-ranked team in the Tennessee Wesleyan Bulldogs. Despite splitting the singles matches with the Bulldogs, the Eagles saw their three-match winning streak snapped on Saturday as they narrowly fell to the Bulldogs, 4-3.
With just one doubles point up for grabs in Athens, Emory needed to take two of the three matches to claim the opening point. Seniors Ryan Glanville and Brandon Cohen won their match on court one by a 6-3 margin. However, sophomore Dean Kamenev and senior Nolan Shah fell on court two, 6-4, and freshman Christian Liew and graduate student Justin Waldman dropped their match, 6-3, on court three as the Bulldogs seized the doubles point.
The Eagles entered the singles portion of the afternoon trailing the Bulldogs, 1-0.
The Eagles claimed three wins during singles play, keeping the match within reach. Glanville earned a point for the Eagles on court three. After dropping his first set, 4-6, Glanville stormed back to win the following two frames 7-6 (6) and 6-4 and pull out a gritty win to keep his personal winning streak alive. Glanville has now won six straight matches, bringing his record to 9-3 this spring.
Waldman picked up his fifth win of the year on Saturday, earning a dominant win in straight sets by scores of 6-0 and 6-1. This is his third-consecutive singles win, all coming on court four.
Liew continued his strong rookie campaign, picking up a win on court five. He dropped his first set 2-6, but bounced back to win the following two sets, 6-3 and 7-6. Liew is now 12-3 on the year and has won three straight matches.
Kamenev dropped his match on court one in straight sets, 7-5 and 7-6 (7-4). Kamenev slips to 6-8 on the year with the loss.
Kamenev's doubles partner, Shah, also fell in his match playing in the No. 2 position. He dropped straight sets to his opponent, both ending in 6-2 scores. Shah is now 8-5 this spring.
Junior Emilio Van Cotthem lost his match on court six in straight sets, finishing 6-4 and 6-0.
With the loss, the Eagles fall to 13-4 in dual matches this spring. The Eagles will have a quick turnaround as they prepare to host Washington and Lee tomorrow afternoon. It will be the final dual match of the spring for the Eagles before they get set to compete in the UAA Championships later this week. Prior to the match, the Eagles will recognize their senior class with a pre-match ceremony. The meeting between the Generals and Eagles will get started at 1:00 PM at the Woodruff P.E. Center.