The top-ranked Emory University women’s tennis team celebrated ‘Senior Day’ on Tuesday with another victory over a ranked NCAA Division III opponent, defeating the 21^st-ranked University of the South (Sewanee) 9-0 at the Woodruff P.E. Center.

The win was Emory’s 10^th this season against a ranked NCAA Division III opponent, as the Eagles improved to 12-1 against other D-III teams in 2011.  Emory raised its record to 16-4 overall, while Sewanee fell to 15-5.

The Eagles opened up with a sweep of all three doubles contests for the fourth-straight match.  Lorne McManigle and Gabrielle Clark teamed together in the first doubles match, earning an 8-1 win over Kate Stanford and Jenny Liles, the sixth-ranked doubles pairing in the Atlantic South Region.  In the second doubles match, Brenna Kelly and Malavika Padmanabhan claimed an 8-2 win over Michelle Flume and Anne Garland.  Zahra Dawson won her 12^th-straight doubles match to complete the sweep, teaming with Taylor Brandt for an 8-1 win over Lindsay Wilburn and Laura Szyperski.

Emory continued its domination in the singles matches, claiming victories in all six contests in straight sets.  Playing at first singles for just the second time this season, McManigle claimed a 6-4, 6-3 win over Liles, while Dawson picked up a 6-3, 6-2 win over Flume in second singles.  Padmanabhan earned a 6-4, 6-2 win over Garland in the third singles match, and Laura Callava defeated Julia Wood 6-4, 6-3 in fourth singles.  Rounding out the victory, Lindsay Reidenbach defeated Wilburn in the fifth singles match, and Brandt defeated Mary Taylor Tepper in the sixth, each by a 6-2, 6-0 score.

The shutout was the team’s fifth in 13 matches against Division III teams this season.

Prior to the start of the match, the Eagles held a ceremony to celebrate the team’s three graduating seniors – McManigle, Reidenbach and Callava.  The three have helped lead the Eagles to the NCAA Division III Tournament each of their seasons with the team, including a second-place finish in 2010.

The Eagles will now have 10 days off before traveling to Washington University (Mo.) in St. Louis for the 2011 University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships, from Friday, April 22^nd – Sunday, April 24^th.