2012-13 Emory Women’s Tennis Season Recap

Led by a group of some of the top returning players in Division III, and infused with arguably the most impactful freshman class in the squad's history, the Emory University Women's Tennis team highlighted its 2012-13 season with a second-place finish at the NCAA Championships.

After receiving a first-round bye, Emory advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships with 5-0 home wins over 22^nd-ranked Trinity University (Texas) in the second round and the 15^th-ranked University of the South in the third round.  In Kalamazoo, Emory bested fifth-ranked Middlebury College 5-2 in the quarterfinals, before pulling out a gritty 5-4 win over third-ranked Amherst College in the semifinals to advance to the championship match for the eighth-time in the program's history.

Facing Williams College in the title contest, Emory earned wins in the first and third doubles matches to carry a 2-1 lead into singles play.  However, the Ephs claimed victories in the first four singles matches that were decided to secure the team victory.  In the remaining two matches that were undecided, Emory led in the first set of one, and was tied at a set apiece heading into the third set of the other.

The second-place finish was the third in the history of the Emory Women's Tennis program, and the eighth top-two finish.  It also marked the fifth-consecutive top-three finish for the Eagles, and the 13^th overall in the team's history.  Emory finished its 2013 season with an overall record of 18-5.

The Eagles were well represented in the NCAA Individual Championships, with two players in the singles draw, and a doubles pairing.  Aiming to repeat her NCAA Singles Championship from the 2012 season, junior Gabrielle Clark entered the 2013 draw as the third seed, and won each of her first three matches in straight sets.  However, Clark was eliminated by top-seeded Kristin Lim of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals.  Making her tournament debut, freshman Beatrice Rosen won her first two matches of the singles draw, advancing to the quarterfinals before being eliminated by fifth-seeded Jordan Brewer of Amherst.  In the doubles tournament, Clark teamed with freshman Annette Sullivan as the second-seeded pairing, winning two matches to advance to the semifinals before suffering a 7-6 (5), 6-1 loss to Brewer and Gabby Devlin of Amherst.  For their efforts during the tournament, Clark, Rosen and Sullivan were each recognized as all-Americans for the spring season.

Clark finished the year as the third-ranked singles player in Division III, and as the fourth-ranked doubles pairing along with Sullivan.  Rosen ended her inaugural campaign as the highest-ranked freshman nationally, placing ninth in the final Division III singles rankings.  Senior Jordan Wylie ended her career as the 47^th-ranked singles player in Division III.

Two Eagles also garnered ITA Atlantic South Region Awards following the 2012-13 season.  Wylie was recognized as the region's Senior Player of the Year, becoming the fourth recipient of the award in the program's history, while Rosen became the seventh Eagle to be named the regional Rookie of the Year.  Clark finished the season as the top-ranked singles player in the region, while Rosen was fourth, Wylie ninth and freshman Marissa Levine 10^th.  In the Atlantic South doubles rankings, Clark and Sullivan placed second, while Wylie and freshman Madison Gordon were sixth.

Earlier in the season, Emory dominated three opponents en route to the 2013 University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship.  The Eagles did not drop a match during the tournament, claiming 9-0 wins over New York University in the first round, eighth-ranked Chicago in the semifinals, and ninth-ranked Carnegie Mellon in the championship match.  It marked Emory's 24^th UAA Championship in 26 years of conference competition.

Clark was named the UAA Most Valuable Player, becoming the fifth player and third Eagle in conference history to claim the award multiple times over a career.  In addition, Rosen was named the UAA Rookie of the Year, the fourth in the program's history, while Head Coach Amy Bryant and Assistant Meredith Vincent were named the conference Coaching Staff of the Year for the 19^th-time in Emory history.  Every Eagle who appeared in the tournament received all-UAA recognition, including first team honors for five of the six singles players, and all three doubles pairings.

Included in Emory's overall spring record of 18-5 was a 14-3 record against Division III opponents, with all but one of Division III matches coming against opponents ranked in the final ITA National poll.  Emory's singles players recorded a 94-32 record in dual matches during the year, good for a .746 winning percentage, including a 51-17 mark from the team's six freshmen.  Meanwhile, Emory's doubles pairings were 53-18 in dual matches, also good for a .746 winning percentage.

In the fall, Clark became just the second player in the program's history to win both draws of the ITA Small College National Championships, joining former Eagle Mary Ellen Gordon, who accomplished the feat in 2002.  It marked the fourth time overall that an Eagle has won the singles draw, and Clark teamed with freshman Emma Taylor to win the doubles draw for the third time in school history and the second-straight year overall.  Clark, who was the tournament's top seed, claimed the singles title with a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 win over Middlebury's Lok Sze Leung, one of just two losses the eventual NCAA Singles Champion in the spring would receive all season.   Clark and Taylor also comprised the top seeded pairing in the doubles tournament, defeating Washington and Lee's Meghan Buell and Claire Cahill 6-1, 6-2 in the title contest.

By virtue of winning the singles and doubles draws of the ITA South Regional Championships earlier in fall, Clark and Taylor were both recognized as ITA All-Americans.  Clark bested teammate Jordan Wylie in the championship match of the singles draw, while the Eagles' duo claimed the doubles title with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Anne Garland and Lindsey Liles of Sewanee.

During the entirety of her junior season, Gabrielle Clark went 30-7 in singles play, matching the second-most victories in a single season in school history.  She will enter her senior campaign with 84 career singles wins, the third-most in school history and 31 behind Mary Ellen Gordon's record of 115.  In addition, her 86 career doubles victories rank fifth in the program's record book, and are 19 short of Zahra Dawson's career record of 105.  Beatrice Rosen's 24 singles wins and Emma Taylor's 27 doubles victories each ranked as the fourth-highest ever by an Emory freshman.

The Eagles earned the following honors during the 2012-13 season: