The Emory University Women's Tennis team capped off an impressive 2015-16 season by being crowned National Champions for the second time in the past three seasons and the seventh time in program history.
The Eagles breezed through the early rounds of the NCAA Tournament, dropping just one match (20-1) including a string of 19 straight, to reach their fourth straight championship match and the 11th in school history. In the national championship, top-ranked Emory faced off against second-ranked Williams College with the Eagles coming away with a thrilling 5-4 victory.
Falling behind 2-0 early after the first two doubles, juniors Paula Castro and Michelle Satterfield were able to salvage the final doubles point to cut the deficit to 2-1 heading into singles play. The Eagles and Ephs traded the next four points with Castro and junior Katarina Su collecting singles victories for Emory. Trailing the Ephs 4-3, senior Madison Gordon and Satterfield both earned decisive successful decisions to claim the final two points which gave Emory the come-from-behind win.
At the NCAA Individual Championships, sophomore Bridget Harding, the fourth-seeded singles player in the draw, advanced to the quarterfinals before falling to Caroline Casper of Pomona-Pitzer. Harding went on to add a quarterfinals appearance as well in the doubles competition playing with teammate Su. Satterfield qualified for the NCAA Individual Championships for third consecutive season and second straight in the singles draw, reaching the Round of 32.
Emory finished the year with a 28-5 overall record, tying the 2014 team for the most wins in a single season. The Eagles were 22-1 against Division III opponents with the lone loss coming against Middlebury (5-4), which was later avenged in the NCAA Semifinals when the Eagles knocked off the Panthers, 5-1.
Individually, Harding (5th) and Satterfield (T-20th) finished the season in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association national singles rankings with Gordon/sophomore Anna Fuhr (11th) and Harding/Su (12th) finishing in the final doubles national rankings. Regionally, Harding ended the year as the top-ranked singles player in the ITA Atlantic South rankings with Satterfield ranked sixth. Emory's top-two doubles pairings, Fuhr/Gordon and Harding/Su, checked in as the third and fourth ranked teams in the final regional doubles rankings.
In addition to being ranked fifth nationally and first regionally, Harding was honored as the ITA Atlantic South Player to Watch heading into the 2016-17 season. The Northport, NY native earned All-American status in both singles and doubles during the season and finished the year with a 24-12 overall singles record, a 16-9 mark playing at first singles, and was 24-9 in doubles action.
Harding was one of four Eagles to finish the season with at least 20 singles victories with Gordon leading the team with a 28-2 record including a team-best 22-match winning streak. Satterfield posted a 22-7 mark with senior Beatrice Rosen earning 20 successful decisions (20-9) in her final season donning blue and gold.
Earlier in the year, the Eagles captured their fourth straight University Athletic Association championship and the 27th overall in 29 years, defeating 12th-ranked Washington University 7-2 in the championship match. Emory was well represented on the All-UAA First Team including Satterfield at second singles, Rosen at fourth singles, Gordon at fifth singles and Castro at sixth singles to go along with Satterfield and Castro earning All-UAA First Team honors at third doubles.
Head Coach Amy Bryant and Assistant Coaches Jordan Wylie, Barbara Krtickova and Ian Wagner were recognized as the UAA Coaching Staff of the Year, marking the 11th time in Bryant's 17 seasons with the team she and her staff were honored with the award. Bryant and Wylie were also honored by the ITA during the season as the duo were named the Atlantic South Head Coach and Assistant Coach of the Year, respectively.
Rosen rounded out the accolades received by the Eagles in 2015-16 as she was named to the Academic All-District team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) for her performance on the court as well as in the classroom for the second time in her career after also earning the distinction as a junior.
The Eagles earned the following honors during the 2015-16 season:
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All-America (Intercollegiate Tennis Association) |
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Bridget Harding |
Northport, NY (Northport) |
Singles (Spring), Doubles (Fall, Spring) |
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Katarina Su |
Alpharetta, GA (Alpharetta) |
Doubles (Fall, Spring) |
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Michelle Satterfield |
Paradise Valley, AZ (Tesseract School) |
Singles (Spring) |
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Taylor Cosme |
New Hyde Parks, NY (Herricks) |
Singles (Fall) |
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NCAA Championships Participant |
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Bridget Harding |
Northport, NY (Northport) |
Singles (Quarterfinals), Doubles (Quarterfinals) |
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Michelle Satterfield |
Paradise Valley, AZ (Tesseract School) |
Singles (Round of 32) |
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Katarina Su |
Alpharetta, GA (Alpharetta) |
Doubles (Quarterfinals) |
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ITA Atlantic South Regional Player to Watch |
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Bridget Harding |
Northport, NY (Northport) |
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ITA Atlantic South Regional Coach of the Year |
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Amy Bryant |
17th Season |
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ITA Atlantic South Regional Assistant Coach of the Year |
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Jordan Wylie |
2nd Season |
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University Athletic Association Rookie of the Year |
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Taylor Cosme |
New Hyde Parks, NY (Herricks) |
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UAA Coaching Staff of the Year |
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Amy Bryant, Jordan Wylie, Barbara Krtickova & Ian Wagner |
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All-UAA |
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Michelle Satterfield |
Paradise Valley, AZ (Tesseract School) |
No. 2 Singles (First Team), No. 3 Doubles (First Team) |
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Taylor Cosme |
New Hyde Parks, NY (Herricks) |
No. 3 Singles (First Team) |
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Beatrice Rosen |
Manhattan Beach, CA (Hotchkiss) |
No. 4 Singles (First Team) |
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Madison Gordon |
New York, NY (Horace Mann) |
No. 5 Singles (First Team) |
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Paula Castro |
Guayaquil, Ecuador (Unidad Educativa Delta) |
No. 6 Singles (First Team), No. 3 Doubles (First Team) |
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ITA Small College National Participant |
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Bridget Harding |
Northport, NY (Northport) |
Doubles (Second Place) |
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Katarina Su |
Alpharetta, GA (Alpharetta) |
Doubles (Second Place) |
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Taylor Cosme |
New Hyde Parks, NY (Herricks) |
Singles (Third Place) |
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ITA Fall South Regional Champion |
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Bridget Harding |
Northport, NY (Northport) |
Doubles |
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Katarina Su |
Alpharetta, GA (Alpharetta) |
Doubles |
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Taylor Cosme |
New Hyde Parks, NY (Herricks) |
Singles |
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CoSIDA Academic All-District |
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Beatrice Rosen |
Manhattan Beach, CA (Hotchkiss) |
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UAA Athlete of the Week |
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Paula Castro |
Guayaquil, Ecuador (Unidad Educativa Delta) |
Sept. 14th |
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Taylor Cosme |
New Hyde Parks, NY (Herricks) |
Oct. 5th |
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Bridget Harding |
Northport, NY (Northport) |
Oct. 5th, Oct. 19th, Feb. 29th |
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Katarina Su |
Alpharetta, GA (Alpharetta) |
Oct. 5th, Oct. 19th, Mar. 7th |
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Beatrice Rosen |
Manhattan Beach, CA (Hotchkiss) |
Feb. 22nd |
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Madison Gordon |
New York, NY (Horace Mann) |
Apr. 18th |
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Michelle Satterfield |
Paradise Valley, AZ (Tesseract School) |
May 31st |
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