For the 10th time in program history, the Emory men's tennis program has won the ITA National Team Indoor Championship after taking down the WashU Bears 4-0 on Sunday morning. The Eagles took on a few of the nation's top teams and came out on top with wins over Gustavus Adolphus, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, and WashU in the championship.
Just two years earlier, the Bears bounced the Eagles in an upset during the opening round of the same event. The Eagles got their revenge on Sunday, though, winning all three doubles matches before senior Nolan Shah clinched the win with the Eagles' third singles win.
The Eagles opened the day with a string of convincing wins to secure the match's doubles point. Sophomore Dean Kamenev and Shah picked up the first win for Emory coming on court two. The duo earned the win in convincing fashion, topping their opponents 6-2.
Just moments later, the Eagles secured the lone doubles point when seniors Ryan Glanville and Brandon Cohen took down the Bears' top doubles pairing of Colin Fox and Gaurav Singh on court one. Glanville and Cohen were knotted up at four points apiece after eight points. The pair of seniors took the final two points of the match, winning 6-4 and clinching the doubles portion.
After the doubles point had already been secured, freshman Christian Liew and graduate student Justin Waldman won their match in the No. 3 doubles position, 6-4, to finish off the sweep in the first portion of the competition.
With one point on the board, Emory needed to win at least three of the six singles matches to secure the championship.
Liew's dominant run in the singles portion of the tournament continued in the championship match, winning in straight sets, 6-1 and 6-3, to sure up the Eagles' first point of the singles matches. In his first ITA Team Indoor Championship appearance, the rookie did not drop a single set in singles play and outscored his opponents 36-11.
Kamenev also finished off his tournament with a win, taking down WashU's Jared Phillips in the No. 1 singles position. Kamenev found himself knotted up at 3 with Phillips in the first set but ran away with three straight points to win the set 6-3. The sophomore kept his foot on the gas, winning the next set 6-1 to secure the Eagles' third point of the morning.
One point away from their 10th ITA Indoor Championship, Shah wasted no time in the No. 2 singles spot. The senior won his match in straight sets, 6-4 and 6-1, to secure the hardware for Emory. With Shah clinching the championship-winning point, the rest of the singles matches were abandoned as Emory hoisted the trophy.
At the conclusion of the tournament, Emory saw four Eagles take home All-Tournament singles honors as well as two doubles teams. Kamenev earned the nod in the No. 1 position, Shah took the honors at the No. 2 spot, Glanville at No. 3, and Liew at No. 5. Glanville and Cohen took home the All-Tournament honor in the No. 1 doubles spot and Shah and Kamenev in the No. 2 position.
The win marks the tenth time Emory has topped the podium at the event, all under head coach John Browning. The Eagles will return home from Nicholasville, Kentucky fresh off a national title with a pair of dual matches coming up next weekend. Emory will start on the road at North Georgia on Saturday before finishing up the weekend against Piedmont on Sunday, also on the road.