The Emory University men's tennis team is St. Louis bound after defeating the Sewanee Tigers, 5-2, in Sunday's regional final on the campus of Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia.
The Eagles will be making their 32nd consecutive trip to the NCAA Elite 8 and will face either Middlebury University or MIT in the national quarterfinals on Tuesday, May 21 at the Dwight Davis Memorial Tennis Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Emory has now reached the round of eight in each of Head Coach John Browning's 25 seasons.
Sunday's match saw the Eagles jump out to a 2-1 advantage, claiming points on the top two doubles courts. Seniors Ryan Glanville and Brandon Cohen opened the match with an 8-4 victory at the top line before Sewanee evened the contest with an 8-3 decision over graduate student Justin Waldman and freshman Christian Liew on court three.
With the score leveled at 1-1, senior Nolan Shah and sophomore Dean Kamenev put Emory ahead with another victory, defeating Sewanee's duo 8-5 on court two. The win gives Shah and Kamenev a team-best 24 wins together this season.
With the Eagles leading 2-1 in singles, junior Emilio Van Cotthem increased the lead as he was first to finish with a 6-1, 6-1 triumph at the sixth spot. The Tigers got a point back at the No. 1 position as Jordan Theron defeated Kamenev, 6-1, 6-4. It marked the third time this season these top players had squared off, having previously met in the championship matches of the ITA Cup and the ITA South Regional.
Needing two more wins with four matches remaining, the Eagles saw cinching points come from Liew and Waldman at the four and five spots in the lineup. Liew gave Emory a 4-2 lead with his 6-4, 6-0 decision on court five before Waldman closed out the win with his 6-0, 6-4 verdict on court four.
When the match concluded, Glanville led on court three at 6-4, 1-4 while Shah trailed on court two, 5-7, 1-2.
The Eagles run their season record to 18-5 while Sewanee ends its season at 21-5.