The Emory University Women's Tennis team opened the ITA South Regional Championship with a strong showing Friday afternoon as seven Eagles advanced to the Round of 16 in the singles draw while four doubles teams reached the quarterfinal round. The ITA South Regional Championship is being held at Sewanee University in Sewanee, TN.
All three top seeds moved onto the Round of 16 in singles by virtue of winning their second round match. The top-seed in the draw, senior Bridget Harding, downed Berry's Sarah Murray 6-1, 6-1 with freshman Ysabel Gonzalez-Rico, the no.-2 seed, defeating Centre's Emma Ramsey 6-0, 6-2. The no.-3 seed, junior Daniela Lopez, followed suit by besting Millsaps' Grace Gaskins 6-2, 7-5. Freshman Defne Olcay, the draw's sixth seed, joined the trio in the Round of 16 after beating Birmingham-Southern's Isabella Wisener 6-4, 6-1.
Also advancing to Saturday's Round of 16 were freshmen Katie Chang, Trisha Sundaram and Stephanie Taylor. Chang followed a first round bye with a 6-0, 6-0 whitewash over Sewanee's Taylor Sprouse. Sundaram defeated Oglethorpe's Shannon Cruz 6-1, 6-0 in the opening round before defeating NC-Wesleyan's Jules Johnson 6-1, 1-0 (retired). Taylor beat Piedmont's Caroline Connelly 6-1, 6-0 in the first round before knocking off Centre's Caroline Stallings 6-2, 6-4.
In doubles play, four of the five Emory tandems in action on Friday advanced to quarterfinals including the no.-1 overall seed in the draw, Harding and Gonzalez-Rico. After a first round bye, Harding and Gonzalez-Rico breezed past Millsaps' Shields/Hayek combo 8-0. Joining them in the quarterfinals were Taylor and sophomore Emma Perelman, senior Anna Fuhr and Sundaram, and Lopez and Olcay.
Taylor/Perelman defeated Piedmont's Connelly/Moody duo 8-1 before eliminating Millsaps' Gaskins/Sandoz, 8-5. Fuhr/Sundaram made quick work of their first round opponent, NC-Wesleyan's Hovhammer/Halabi, 8-1, before bouncing Sewanee's Duval/Sprouse by an 8-2 margin. Lopez and Olcay blanked Berry's Murray/Stone, 8-0, in the opening round before retiring BSC's Petro/Whitlock, 8-5.
The ITA Regional Championship continues on Saturday with the Round of 16 and quarterfinal matches in the singles competition followed by the quarterfinal and semifinal matches in the doubles draw.