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
21st-ranked University of the South (Sewanee) 9-0 at the
Woodruff P.E. Center.
The win was Emory’s 10th 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 12th-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 22nd
– Sunday, April 24th.