After more than a year away from the courts, the Emory University women's tennis team will make it's return to competitive matches taking on Sewanee in a doubleheader this Saturday, March 20th. The Eagles last match was back on March 11th, 2020.
Head Coach Amy Bryant's 2021 squad returns all 12 members from last year's team which went 6-3 in dual matches before the remaining schedule was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and were ranked third in the final national ITA team rankings. Among the returning group are five players that claimed ITA All-America status in 2020.
Headlining the returning corps are seniors Ysabel Gonzalez-Rico, Defne Olcay and sophomore Alexa Goetz, all three of whom collected All-America honors in singles in 2020 with Olcay and Goetz each earning All-America awards in doubles as well. Gonzalez-Rico, the 2019 NCAA DIII Singles National Champion, was 5-2 at the No.-1 position for the Eagles while Olcay finished 16th nationally in the singles rankings. Goetz put forth a strong rookie season for the Eagles, leading the team in both singles (15) and doubles (16) victories, showcased her talent at the ITA South Region championship in the fall by winning both the singles and doubles crown and was picked as the ITA Atlantic South Rookie of the Year.
Returning All-Americans also include juniors Christina Watson and Emma Cartledge. The duo were tabbed as All-Americans in doubles as both reach the ITA South Regional Championship match with the tandem of Goetz and Watson knocking off Cartledge and Olcay in the all Emory final. Watson went 11-11 in doubles matches and added an 11-7 singles mark. Cartledge posted a 10-3 doubles record and finished tied for the team lead with 15 singles victories.
Other notable returners include All-UAA performers in senior Stephanie Taylor and sophomore Katelyn Thomas as well as junior Jessica Fatemi who added a double figure wins totals in singles with an 11-6 record.
Bryant also welcomes in three newcomers to round out the roster: Sam Falcon (Stamford, CT), Xuanjin Li (Shanghai, China) and Ana Cristina Perez (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic).
Sewanee has played four matches so far this season, sweeping NC Wesleyan and Cumberland on back-to-back weekends in late February and early March. The Eagles scored an 8-1 decision in the teams' lone meeting during the 2019-20 season, back on February 22nd, 2020.