Top-seeded Emory University opened play at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) 2011 Division III National Team Indoor Championship on Friday with an 8-1 win over eighth-seeded and 15^th-ranked DePauw University.

For the fourth-straight match, the Eagles opened competition by sweeping all three doubles contests.  First to finish was Emory’s second-doubles team of senior Lorne McManigle and junior Zahra Dawson, who defeated Tricia Wilks and Lizzy Whitlatch 8-2.  In the third doubles match, freshmen Malavika Padmanabhan and Brenna Kelly bested DePauw’s Elizabeth Young and Meg Crowley 8-3.  Rounding out doubles play, freshman Gabrielle Clark and sophomore Jordan Wylie came from behind to defeat Janelle Arita and Kelly Gebert 9-7.

In singles play, after Wylie claimed a 6-0, 6-2 win in the second singles match over Gebert, Clark clinched the team victory for Emory with a 6-2, 6-2 win in the first singles match over regionally eighth-ranked Arita. 

Adding to the victory, McManigle split the first two sets of the third singles match with Wilks, 6-2, 4-6, but won the tiebreaker 12-10.  Dawson put the Eagles up 7-0 with a straight-set 6-2, 6-2 match against Crowley in the fourth-singles contest.  In the final two singles contests, Padmanabhan earned a 6-2, 6-0 win over Katie Regan in the fifth-singles match, while Emory freshman Taylor Brandt fell to Elizabeth Young 7-5, 6-4 in the sixth-singles match.

With the win, Emory improved to 4-2 on the season, while DePauw dropped to 2-2 with the loss. 

The Eagles will advance to the semifinals of the ITA Championships at 3:00 PM EST on Saturday, as the team will look for its third-straight trip to the championship match.  Emory will face fifth-seeded Carnegie Mellon University, which upset fourth-seeded Gustavus Adolphus on Friday night.