The No.1-ranked Emory University women's tennis team will be looking for its seventh national title as the final rounds of the 2016 NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Championships begin on Monday, May 23rd at Stowe Stadium and the Sorenson Courts on the campus of Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
The Eagles will open up the quarterfinals against a familiar face on Monday as they are set to face UAA-foe and 10th-ranked Washington University at 2:00 PM on Monday. The winner of Monday's match will face either fifth-ranked Middlebury or seventh-ranked Amherst in the semifinals on Tuesday at 2:00 PM.
On the other side of the draw, second-ranked Williams plays ninth-ranked University of Chicago and fourth-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps squares off against sixth-ranked Bowdoin. Both matches are scheduled for 5:00 PM on Monday with the winners advancing to the other semifinal match on Tuesday.
The two semifinals winners will advance to the National Championship match which is set for 3:00 PM on Wednesday.
Fans can follow the action throughout the week with live streaming video here: http://www.ncaa.com/liveschedule. Live results link coming soon.
Emory is 25-5 this season and will enter the quarterfinals winners of seven of its last eight. Of the 25 victories, 19 have come against Division III opponents (19-1) including a 6-1 record against the other remaining seven teams in the field.
The Eagles' projected lineup features two players in the ITA Atlantic South regional rankings with sophomore Bridget Harding (third) and junior Michelle Satterfield (seventh). Harding (21-9) is one of three Eagles with at least 20 singles victories under their belt. Senior Madison Gordon is playing as well as any player in the country at the moment with 20 straight successful decisions and owns an outstanding 26-2 record on the season. Classmate Beatrice Rosen earned her 20th win of the season in Emory's second round victory over Methodist and enters the week 20-8 overall.
In doubles, Harding is part of Emory's sixth-ranked duo in the region with junior Katarina Su. The Eagles' No.2 doubles team has won 13 of 14 matches and is 21-7 on the campaign.
This marks the 26th NCAA Quarterfinal appearance in program history and the team's ninth-straight appearance. The Eagles are 15-10 all-time in NCAA Quarterfinal matches, including wins in each of their last seven appearances and 13 of their last 14.
WashU advanced to the quarterfinals with wins over No. 22 Denison (5-0) and No. 12 Sewanee (5-2). The Bears are 17-8 overall and feature three singles players ranked in the ITA Central Regional rankings: Rebecca Ho (1st), Jamie Sliverberg (18th) and Grace Deering (24th) and the eighth-ranked doubles team of Sliverberg and Deering.
Emory is a perfect 21-0 all-time against Washington including a 2-0 record over the Bears this season. The two schools last met on April 24th in the UAA Championship Match with Emory picking up a 7-2 victory. In the NCAA Tournament, Emory and WashU have met only twice before with the Eagles defeating the Bears 5-1 in the previous meeting in the 2014 quarterfinals.
Following the conclusion of the team championships, the NCAA Women's Tennis Individual Championships will take place starting on Thursday, May 26th and will also be held in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Harding and Satterfield are currently slated to compete in the singles draw, with Harding set to take part in the doubles draw as well with Su. The seeds and draws for both singles and doubles will be released Tuesday evening.