The 2021 season proved to be another banner year for the Emory University women's tennis program as the Eagles added more hardware to the trophy case after returning to competition following a year-long hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Eagles made their return to the courts in March putting forth a 10-3 campaign, culminating with the program's eighth national championship in May at the NCAA Championships at the Champions Club in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The team breezed through the early rounds of the tournament, blanking both Rhode Island College and Williams by 5-0 margins at the NCAA Regionals in Peachtree Corners, GA, hosted by Emory and Lifetime Fitness. The Eagles added another 5-0 decision in the NCAA Quarterfinals, advancing past Southwestern (TX) to set up a meeting with Tufts University in the semifinals.
The Jumbos proved to the toughest task for Emory during the tournament run before Emory eventually pulled out the 5-2 victory. Two of the three doubles matches needed a tiebreak to decide a winner. The Eagles led 2-1 after doubles and increased their lead to 4-1 after back-to-back victories by Ysabel Gonzalez-Rico and Christina Watson at the top two singles positions. The Jumbos made it 4-2 with a win on court five before Stephanie Taylor clinched the match with a gutsy, come-from-behind win at the third position.
After defeating Tufts, the Eagles were set to battle another NESCAC school in Wesleyan (CT) for the 2021 NCAA Division III National Championship, a rematch of the 2019 national semifinal. Despite falling to the Cardinals two seasons ago, Wesleyan was no match for this Emory squad as the Eagles thoroughly dominated the match from the opening serve to the clinching point, winning by a 5-0 margin.
Emory held Wesleyan to under four games won in all three doubles contests, winning by scores of 8-1, 8-2 and 8-4 as all three matches took under an hour to complete. In singles, Gonzalez-Rico and Jessica Fatemi earned clinching wins moments apart from each other to seal the match for the Eagles.
The strong play continued over at the NCAA Individual Championships as the four Eagles chosen to represent the team did so in impressive fashion.
In the doubles draw, both tandems advanced through the bracket setting up an all-Emory national championship between Gonzalez-Rico/Katie Chang and Watson/Taylor. The match was a heavily contested affair that needed three sets to decide a winner. Gonzalez-Rico/Chang opened the match with a 6-2 win in the opening set before Watson/Taylor stormed back with a 7-5 win in set two after falling behind by a 4-2 margin. In the third set, both teams held serve until Gonzalez-Rico/Chang grabbed a crucial break to move in front 3-2 before both teams held serve to make it 4-3. The senior duo then closed out the win with back-to-back points to clinch the first doubles title for Emory since 2004.
In the singles competition, Watson and Gonzalez-Rico both advanced to the semifinals with Watson moving even farther as she finished as the national runner-up. Gonzalez-Rico earned early round wins over players from Southwestern (TX), Wesleyan (CT) and Christopher Newport and on the other side of the draw, Watson did not drop a set before the national championship, defeating players from Amherst, Gustavus Adolphus, Bethel and UT-Dallas. Both players saw their season ends by Williams' Erica Ekstrand however as the Ephs rookie defeated Gonzalez-Rico in straight sets in the semis before topping Watson 6-2, 6-3 in the national title match.
All four Emory players at the NCAA Individual Championships: Gonzalez-Rico, Chang, Taylor and Watson garnered Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-America honors to headline a bevy of postseason awards for the Eagles.
In addition, Gonzalez-Rico was tabbed as the ITA National Senior Player of the Year, becoming just the third player in program history to receive the award. Gonzalez-Rico finished tied for the team lead with Watson with 11 singles victories and posted a perfect 16-0 season in doubles with Chang, becoming the first-ever Emory doubles team to record a 1.000 winning percentage with a minimum of 15 matches played.
Taylor added ITA acclaim as she was selected as the Atlantic South's Most Improved Senior. Taylor went 4-1 in singles including a 3-1 mark at the No. 3 position and was 12-4 playing with Watson as Emory's No. 2 doubles duo.
Although the University Athletic Association canceled the conference championships for the second straight year due to the pandemic, the Eagles were heavily represented on the All-UAA team Gonzalez-Rico, Watson and Taylor all earning selections in both singles and doubles while freshman Ana Cristina Perez was chosen for her play at No. 4 singles as well as Chang at No. 1 doubles.
The Eagles earned the following honors during the 2021 season:
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NCAA Division III Doubles National Champions |
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Pinecrest, FL (Gulliver Preparatory) |
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Coto de Caza, CA (Santa Margarita Catholic) |
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NCAA Division III Doubles National Runners-Up |
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Houston, TX (St. Agnes Academy) |
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Fort Lauderdale, FL (Pine Crest School) |
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NCAA Division III Individual Championships Singles Participant |
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Finals |
Houston, TX (St. Agnes Academy) |
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Semifinals |
Pinecrest, FL (Gulliver Preparatory) |
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All-America (Intercollegiate Tennis Association) |
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Singles, Doubles |
Pinecrest, FL (Gulliver Preparatory) |
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Singles, Doubles |
Houston, TX (St. Agnes Academy) |
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Doubles |
Fort Lauderdale, FL (Pine Crest School) |
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Doubles |
Coto de Caza, CA (Santa Margarita Catholic) |
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All-UAA |
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Pinecrest, FL (Gulliver Preparatory) |
No. 1 Singles, No. 1 Doubles |
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Houston, TX (St. Agnes Academy) |
No. 2 Singles, No. 2 Doubles |
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Fort Lauderdale, FL (Pine Crest School) |
No. 3 Singles, No. 2 Doubles |
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Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (Carol Morgan School) |
No. 4 Singles |
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Coto de Caza, CA (Santa Margarita Catholic) |
No. 2 Doubles |
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ITA National Senior Athlete of the Year |
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Pinecrest, FL (Gulliver Preparatory) |
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ITA Atlantic South Most Improved Senior |
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Fort Lauderdale, FL (Pine Crest School) |
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UAA Athlete of the Week |
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Houston, TX (St. Agnes Academy) |
March 22 |
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Pinecrest, FL (Gulliver Preparatory) |
April 5, May 3, June 1 |
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Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (Carol Morgan School) |
May 17 |
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Coto de Caza, CA (Santa Margarita Catholic) |
June 1 |
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