Five members of the Emory University women's tennis team were named to the UAA All-Association Team as announced by the conference office Monday morning. The Eagles were crowned the 2021 NCAA Division III National Champions for the eighth time in program history following the 10-3 campaign.
Four players from the singles lineup drew All-UAA acclaim: Ysabel Gonzalez-Rico, Christina Watson, Stephanie Taylor and Ana Cristina Perez with the team's top two doubles teams also earning All-League recognition: Gonzalez-Rico/Katie Chang and Watson/Taylor.
FULL UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION TEAM
Gonzalez-Rico makes her fourth career All-UAA singles selection after tying for the team lead with 11 victories, going 11-3 overall and 8-2 at the No. 1 position. She went 3-0 during the Eagles' NCAA tournament run, not dropping a set in any of her three matches. At the NCAA Individual Championships, she advanced to the semifinals for the second time before falling to eventual national champion Erica Ekstrand from Williams.
For Watson, this marks her second career All-UAA singles honor as she ended the season as the nation's runner-up. Watson went 11-4 in 15 completed matches and 6-3 at the No. 2 position. She was 2-0 in the NCAA tournament with straight set wins over Southwestern's Esther Bowers and Tufts' Maggie Dorr. At the NCAA Individual Championships, she did not drop a set across the first four rounds prior to playing for the national championship.
Taylor and Perez make their first-ever All-UAA singles selections after primarily playing at the No. 3 and 4 spots, respectively, for the Eagles. Taylor went 4-1 including a comeback three-set win over Tufts' Maddie Suk in the final four that sent the Eagles back to the national championship match. In addition, Taylor was leading by a set in four unfinished NCAA tournament matches. For Perez, she collected five wins in singles competition her rookie season, posting an overall record of 5-2. Two of her wins came during regionals against Rhode Island College and Williams, dropping just three games total across the two victories.
The nation's top two doubles teams at the end of the season round out the All-UAA selections for the Eagles. Gonzalez-Rico and Chang, the 2021 doubles national champions, went a perfect 16-0 this spring culminating with the program's fifth doubles national title while the national runners-up, Watson and Taylor, were 12-4 as a unit. Both teams went a combined 10-0 during Emory's NCAA title run.
Gonzalez-Rico, Watson and Taylor have all now earned multiple All-UAA doubles selections in their careers with this marking the third for both Gonzalez-Rico and Taylor and the second for Watson. For Chang, this is her first-ever All-Association honor.