The top-ranked Emory University Eagles defeated ninth-ranked Washington University (Mo.) 5-1 on Monday afternoon to advance to the semifinals of the 2014 NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Championships at the Bisantz Family Tennis Center in Claremont, California.

Emory will now turn its attention towards its semifinal match, scheduled for 6:00 PM ET on Tuesday, May 20^th, when the Eagles will face fourth-ranked Johns Hopkins University.  Hopkins advanced to the semifinals by edging host and fifth-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges 5-4 on Monday.

Tuesday's contest will be a rematch from earlier in the season, when Emory defeated the Blue Jays (then ranked first in the country) 7-2.  Emory is 3-0 all-time against Hopkins, as the two teams will be playing each other during the NCAA Tournament for the first time.

Emory picked up wins in the first two doubles matches decided, with senior Gabrielle Clark and freshman Michelle Satterfield winning 8-2 in the first match over Rebecca Ho and Carinne Rauck, and sophomores Beatrice Rosen and Madison Gordon claiming an 8-1 win at second doubles over Aly Coran and Jamie Silverberg.  Washington would cut the Eagles' lead to 2-1 with a third doubles victory, as Betsy Edershile and Hanna Newstadt defeated senior Brenna Kelly and freshman Katarina Su 8-6.

The Eagles would waste little time claiming the three singles matches necessary to clinch the team victory.  Rosen pushed Emory's lead to 3-1 with a 6-0, 6-0 win at third singles over Coran, while Clark defeated Silverberg 6-0, 6-0 at first singles.  Gordon would secure the team win for the Eagles with a 6-0, 6-1 win at fifth singles over Edershile.

Emory was a game away from winning two other matches when play was stopped.  Freshman Melissa Goodman held a 6-1, 5-2 lead at fourth singles over Theresa Petraskova, while Su was up at sixth singles, 6-0, 5-1, over Rauck.  At second singles, Satterfield was down in the second set, 5-7, 1-1, to Ho.

Emory will be making its sixth-straight appearance in the NCAA Semifinals and its 15^th appearance in the program's history.  The Eagles improved to 26-2 overall for the season, while the Bears' campaign closed with an overall record of 19-6.