The Emory University women’s tennis team opened play at the USTA/ITA South Region Championships on Friday in Sewanee, TN, and after one day of competition, seven Eagles advanced to the round of 16 in the singles bracket, and three doubles teams made it to the quarterfinals.

In the singles bracket, top-seeded freshman Gabrielle Clark lost just one game in her two matches, en route to the round of 16 where she will face off against Sewanee’s Anne Garland on Saturday.  Emory junior Zahra Dawson, the second seed, had similar success after dropping just three games in her first two matches, and will face teammate Malavika Padmanabhan on Saturday, after the freshman won each of her first two matches on Friday.

Also still alive in the singles bracket for Emory heading into Saturday are third-seeded senior Lorne McManigle and ninth-seeded sophomore Jordan Wylie, in addition to unseeded freshman Taylor Brandt and sophomore Kelsey Grad.  Grad was able to deal a blow to one of the seeded players in the tournament, defeating Rachel Storz of Agnes Scott College 6-3, 6-0 in the second round.

Emory junior Daniela Schechter and freshmen Brenna Kelly and Meghan Logun each won their first round singles matches, but fell in the second round.

In the doubles bracket, Emory’s top-seeded pairing of Dawson and McManigle earned an 8-1 victory in each of their first two matches.  Also advancing to Saturday’s quarterfinals were the Eagles’ sixth-seeded pair of Clark and Kelly, and the unseeded duo of Grad and senior Lindsay Reidenbach. 

The Eagles will resume play at the USTA/ITA South Region Championships on Saturday in Sewanee, TN.  The championship matches of the singles and doubles brackets will be played on Sunday.