The Emory University Women's Tennis program continues its fall season this weekend, September 22-24, as the team takes part in the annual ITA South Regional Championships held at Sewanee University in Sewanee, TN.
Emory looks to keep its recent stretch of regional dominance going this weekend as for the last 15 seasons an Eagle has taken home the singles crown while an Emory duo has claimed the doubles title every year since 2007. The singles and doubles champions from this weekend's tournament will advance to next month's ITA Small College National Tournament from October 12-15 in Rome, Georgia.
10 players will represent the Eagles in the main singles draw with four Eagles claiming one of the top-eight seeds in the draw. Senior Bridget Harding enters as the top overall seed as well as the reigning ITA Fall Division III Singles National Champion. Freshman Ysabel Gonzalez-Rico earned the No.-2 seed followed by junior Daniela Lopez (No.-3 seed) and fellow newcomer Defne Olcay (No.-6 seed). Rounding out the Eagles in the main singles draw will be sophomores Emma Perelman and Elaine Vernoff and freshmen Katie Chang, Trisha Sundaram, Stephanie Taylor and Sasha Hartje.
In the main doubles draw, Emory will see five tandems in action with Harding and Gonzalez-Rico positioned as the top overall seed. Harding, along with former Eagle Katarina Su, captured the ITA Fall Division III Doubles National Championship in 2016 and were ITA South Regional Champions in both 2015 and 2016. Also competing in the doubles draw at Sewanee will be Chang/Hartje, Perelman/Taylor, Lopez/Olcay and Sundaram and partner senior Anna Fuhr.
Other schools set to participate in the ITA Regional Championship will be Millsaps, Centre, Piedmont, Oglethorpe, Birmingham-Southern, Berry, Belhaven, NC Wesleyan, Rhodes, Agnes Scott and host Sewanee.