The Emory University Women's Tennis team finished second at the 2013 NCAA Division III Championships, falling 5-2 in the title match to Williams College on Wednesday afternoon in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

The second-place finish was the third in the program's history, along with runner-up endings in both 2002 and 2010.  The Eagles have now finished among the top two teams in Division III on eight occasions and in the top-three 13 times.  It marked the fifth-straight campaign with a top-three finish for Emory.

Wednesday's championship match was moved indoors due to rain storms in the area overnight and early in the day.  In addition, the match start time was pushed back an hour, to accommodate the third-place match taking place earlier.

The Eagles would score first in doubles play, gaining an 8-4 win from junior Brenna Kelly and freshman Emma Taylor over Williams' Monica Pastor and Nancy Worley at third doubles.  However, the Ephs would even the team score with an 8-5 triumph at second doubles shortly thereafter, with the combination of Kathleen Elkins and Maria Pylypiv defeating Emory senior Jordan Wylie and freshman Madison Gordon.

The team holding the edge at the end of doubles play would ultimately be decided by the first doubles match, where Emory junior Gabrielle Clark and freshman Annette Sullivan faced off against Williams' Rebecca Curran and Kara Shoemaker.  The contest was a back-and-forth affair, with Emory jumping out to a 4-1 lead, but eventually falling behind 6-4.  The Eagles' duo would battle back again, and with the score even at 8-8, the match would go to a tiebreaker set.  Clark and Sullivan would ultimately edge the Williams' pairing in the tiebreaker, 8-6, and give Emory a 2-1 lead heading into singles play.

Williams evened the score quickly again, as Worley claimed a 6-2, 6-0 win over freshman Marissa Levine fourth singles match, tying the team ledger at 2-2.  The Ephs would also claim a victory at second singles, where Elkins defeated Emory freshman Beatrice Rosen, 6-1, 6-3, to take their first lead of the match.

Williams would pull to within a point of clinching after Emory's Gordon fell at fifth singles to Pylypiv 6-0, 6-1.  The winning point from the Ephs came from the third singles match, where Curran bested Wylie 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-0 to secure the championship for Williams.

At the time the match was stopped, Clark had split the first two sets with Shoemaker, 6-4, 6 -7 (4) at first singles, and Kelly led 4-3 in the first set over Pastor at sixth singles.

The victory marked the sixth-consecutive NCAA Championship for Williams, which finished the season with an overall record of 23-4.  Emory ended its campaign with an overall record of 18-5.

Emory will now turn its attention towards the individual NCAA Championship, which will begin on Thursday at 8:00 AM.  Clark and Rosen will each be competing in the singles draw for the Eagles, while Clark will team with Sullivan in the doubles draw.