The Emory University men's tennis duo of senior Andrew Esses and sophomore Nolan Shah reached the NCAA Division III Doubles National Championship but ultimately finished as the national runners-up Sunday afternoon at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, FL.

Esses and Shah became the fourth Emory men's doubles team to play for a national title as they opened the day with a straight set 6-3, 6-3 victory over WashU's Daniel Li and Abhi Ramireddy in the semifinals.

The win set up another meeting with a University Athletic Association rival as the Eagles met the No. 2 seed James Hopper and Jonathan Powell from Case Western Reserve in the national title bout.

The championship match was strongly contested but it was the Spartans that came away with the win as they defeated the Emory pair 6-4, 6-1 to win the doubles crown.

For the season, Esses and Shah finish with a 12-6 overall record while playing together, capturing All-America honors for the performances.