The No. 2-ranked Emory men's tennis  team survived a stiff challenge from No.  13 Johns Hopkins Monday morning in the quarterfinals of the NCAA D-III Championships.  The Eagles raised their overall record to 23-0 following a 5-4 decision over the Blue Jays who closed out their campaign with an overall ledger of 19-5.  The Championships are being held in Cary, NC.
JHU jumped claimed the first point of the match with a victory at No. 2 doubles.  However, the Eagles' No. 3 team of senior Dillon Pottish and freshman Brian Kowalski evened things up with a solid 8-2 outcome over Tanner Brown and Erik Lim.  Emory then moved ahead by a 2-1 margin after seniors Chris Goodwin and Will Humphreys earned an 8-4 triumph over Jacoby Barnaby and Warren Elgort at the No. 1 position, their 10^th in 13 decisions this spring.

Pottish pushed Emory's advantage to 3-1 with his 6-1, 6-0 victory against Andy Hersh at No. 1 singles upping his mark to 20-1 this spring.  However, the Blue Jays battled back to knot the contest following triumphs at Nos. 2 & 3 singles.  Freshman Brian Kowalski  saw his spring record go to 15-4 following his 7-6, 6-1 decision over Jensen Reiter, slipping Emory ahead by a 4-3 margin. 

With the outcome of the match coming down the wire at Nos. 5 and 6 singles, the Blue Jays got the point at the latter which tied the score at 4-4.   Shortly after that match was decided,   Emory's Eric Halpern  recorded a dramatic three-set win over Elgort, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, a match that saw him rally from a 0-3 deficit in the deciding set.   The victory raised his spring record to 19-1. 

With the win, Emory advances to the semifinal round on Tuesday where it will meet No. 3-ranked Williams (18-2) at 9:00 am.  The Ephs opened Championships play on Monday with a 5-3 verdict over Bowdoin.