Senior Bridget Harding and freshman Ysabel Gonzalez-Rico advanced to the NCAA Division III Doubles Quarterfinals following a win over Tufts University late Thursday night at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center in Claremont, California.
After a 7-5 win in the first set, the Emory duo rallied from a 4-0 deficit in the second to force a tiebreaker. Tufts' Karamercan/Popa earned the first point in the tiebreak but Gonzalez-Rico and Harding rattled off seven consecutive points to win the set and the match 7-5, 7-6 (1). The victory gave Harding 112 in her doubles career, breaking a tie with Gabrielle Clark for the most in Emory Women's Tennis history. The win also marked the 33rd of the season for Harding and Gonzalez-Rico, giving the tandem the most doubles wins in a single season in team history. For her career, Harding is 112-35, good for a .762 winning percentage.
Harding and Gonzalez-Rico advance to face MIT's Elysa Kohrs and Libby Rickeman in the Quarterfinals Friday night with the match start time estimated for 7:30 PM EST/4:30 PM PST. Fans can watch the match here: https://webapps.cmc.edu/livescore/.
Earlier in the afternoon, junior Daniela Lopez highlighted the Emory trio in the singles competition of the NCAA Individual Championships, reaching the Round of 16. Lopez defeated Kenyon's Diana Aboubakara in three sets 7-5, 0-6, 6-4 before falling to MIT's Kohrs 6-4, 7-5 in the next round. With her first round win, Lopez earned ITA All-America honors for the first time in her career.
Gonzalez-Rico and Harding each bowed out of the singles draw in the first round to Middlebury foes with Gonzalez-Rico falling to Katherine Hughes 6-2, 6-3 and Harding losing to Heather Boehm 6-0, 6-3. Harding concludes her Emory singles career with 106 career victories (106-36), good for third place on the Eagles' all-time list.