Led by a strong veteran presence during the 2016-17 season, the Emory University Women's Tennis team advanced to the NCAA Division III National Championship match for the fifth consecutive season and for the 12th time in program history.
The Eagles cruised through the early rounds of the NCAA tournament, defeating Methodist College, 5-0, in the Second Round before besting Washington & Lee, 5-1, in the Round of 16 to reach the NCAA Quarterfinals for the 10th straight year and 27th time overall.
Emory added 5-1 victories over Bowdoin College in the Quarterfinals and against previously unbeaten and No.-1 ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the Semifinals to set up a rematch with Williams College in the title match.
The championship matchup between the two top programs in Division III lived up to the billing as the match came down to the wire and was decided by a three-set classic at first singles. With the score tied at 4-4, the Ephs' Juli Raventos battled back after dropping the first set to junior Bridget Harding to help Williams to the 5-4 match win.
The Eagles ended the season with a 17-7 overall record including a 15-2 record against Division III opponents.
Following the NCAA Championship match, Emory enjoyed a successful showing at the NCAA Individual Championships with Harding advancing to the Semifinals and senior Michelle Satterfield reaching the Quarterfinals of the singles draw while the doubles pairing of Harding and senior Katarina Su advanced to the Semifinals of the doubles competition.
In April, Emory captured its fifth straight and 28th overall University Athletic Association championship, edging out the University of Chicago, 5-4, in the title match in Altamonte Springs, Florida. Harding was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player with sophomore Daniela Lopez (No.-3 Singles), Su (No.-1 Doubles, No.-4 Singles) and senior Melissa Goodman (No.-2 Singles) earning berths on the All-UAA Tournament team.
Harding added UAA honors as she was named the Player of the Year and was selected to the First Team for both No.-1 Singles and No.-1 Doubles. Joining Harding on the All-UAA First Team was Lopez (No.-3 Singles) and Su (No.-1 Doubles). The Eagles also saw four Second Team nods with Lopez and Satterfield (No.-2 Doubles), Su (No.-4 Singles) and Goodman (No.-5 Singles). Head Coach Amy Bryant and Assistant Coach Barbora Krtickova were recognized by the UAA as well, being named the Coaching Staff of the Year, marking the 12th time in her career Bryant and her staff has earned the award.
In addition to the UAA title, Emory brought home some hardware in March, winning the ITA Division III National Indoor Championship. The Eagles steamrolled Mary Washington University and Washington University in the first two rounds before toping Pomona-Pitzer, 5-4, in the championship match. The indoor title was the third for the Eagles in program history and the first since the team won back-to-back championships in its last appearance in the tournament in 2010 and 2011.
The Eagles began the season on a strong note with a dominating performance during the ITA Fall Regional and National tournaments. In an all Emory final four in the South Regional, Harding defeated Satterfield in the singles finals with Harding/Su knocking off Satterfield/Lopez in the doubles final to advance to the ITA National Tournament in Surprise, Arizona.
At the ITA Oracle Cup, Harding was crowned the Division III Singles Champion and added a Division III Doubles title, partnering with Su. The pair became the first Emory doubles team to reach the ITA Oracle Cup, formerly known as the ITA 'Super Bowl' final but saw their run end to a tandem from Division II's Lynn University. In the singles competition, Harding fell to JUCO's State College of Florida's Maria Medina in the final four. With her two ITA Division III titles, Harding became just the third Eagle ever to win both the ITA Division III Singles and Doubles National Championship in the same season, joining former Eagles Gabrielle Clark and Mary Ellen Gordon.
At season's end, four Eagles were ranked inside the ITA National Top-50 in singles: Harding (6th), Satterfield (21st), Lopez (42nd) and Su (44th) while Harding and Su checked in at No.-3 in the final ITA National Doubles rankings.
Harding led the team with 30 singles victories, tied for second-most in a single season in program history. She was one of five Eagles to reach the 20-win mark in singles matches. Su ranked second on the squad with 26 singles victories and finished the year with a team-best 13-match winning streak.
Harding and Su notched 31 successful doubles decisions to lead the team, going 31-10 overall. The 31 wins are tied for second-most in a single season in team history. With her 30 wins in both singles and doubles competition, Harding became just the third player ever in school history to reach the 30-win total in both singles and doubles, joining Gordon and Jolyn Taylor (2002-03).
Emory will see the departures of a tremendous senior class in Su, Satterfield, Goodman, Michelle DeMeo and Paula Castro heading into the 2017-18 season but the future looks bright as the Eagles are set to bring in the top-ranked recruiting class in Division III as the program looks to win their eighth-ever national title in the spring of 2018.
The Eagles earned the following honors during the 2016-17 season:
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All-America (Intercollegiate Tennis Association) |
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Northport, NY (Northport) |
Singles (Fall, Spring), Doubles (Fall, Spring) |
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Alpharetta, GA (Alpharetta) |
Doubles (Fall, Spring) |
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Paradise Valley, AZ (Tesseract School) |
Singles (Spring) |
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NCAA Championships Participant |
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Northport, NY (Northport) |
Singles (Semifinals), Doubles (Semifinals) |
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Paradise Valley, AZ (Tesseract School) |
Singles (Quarterfinals) |
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Alpharetta, GA (Alpharetta) |
Doubles (Semifinals) |
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University Athletic Association Player of the Year |
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Northport, NY (Northport) |
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UAA Coaching Staff of the Year |
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Amy Bryant & Barbara Krtickova |
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All-UAA |
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Northport, NY (Northport) |
First Team (No. 1 Singles & No. 1 Doubles) |
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Coral Gables, FL (Ransom-Everglades) |
First Team (No. 3 Singles); Second Team (No. 2 Doubles) |
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Alpharetta, GA (Alpharetta) |
First Team (No. 1 Doubles); Second Team (No. 4 Singles) |
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Lincoln, MA (Lincoln-Sudbury) |
Second Team (No. 5 Singles) |
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Paradise Valley, AZ (Tesseract School) |
Second Team (No. 2 Doubles) |
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UAA Tournament Most Valuable Player |
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Northport, NY (Northport) |
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All-UAA Tournament Team |
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Northport, NY (Northport) |
No. 1 Singles; No. 1 Doubles |
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Coral Gables, FL (Ransom-Everglades) |
No. 3 Singles |
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Alpharetta, GA (Alpharetta) |
No. 4 Singles; No. 1 Doubles |
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Lincoln, MA (Lincoln-Sudbury) |
No. 5 Singles |
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ITA Atlantic South Regional Most Improved Senior |
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Alpharetta, GA (Alpharetta) |
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ITA Oracle Cup National Participant (Formerly known as the 'ITA Super Bowl') |
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Northport, NY (Northport) |
Singles (Semifinals) & Doubles (Second Place) |
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Alpharetta, GA (Alpharetta) |
Doubles (Second Place) |
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ITA Oracle Cup Division III National Champion |
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Northport, NY (Northport) |
Singles & Doubles |
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Alpharetta, GA (Alpharetta) |
Doubles |
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ITA Fall South Regional Champion |
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Northport, NY (Northport) |
Singles & Doubles |
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Alpharetta, GA (Alpharetta) |
Doubles |
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UAA Athlete of the Week |
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Northport, NY (Northport) |
Sept. 12, Sept. 26, Oct. 17, March 27, May 30 |
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Alpharetta, GA (Alpharetta) |
Sept. 26, Oct. 17, March 6, April 17 |
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Coral Gables, FL (Ransom-Everglades) |
Oct. 10 |
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