For the third consecutive season, the Emory University Women's Tennis team will compete for the ITA National Indoor Championship crown as the No.-2 ranked Eagles dispatched No.-8 ranked Pomona-Pitzer College, 9-0, in the semifinal round on Saturday at the Ensworth School in Nashville, TN.
The National Indoor Championship match will be a rematch of last spring's NCAA title match as Emory will battle No.-1 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Sunday beginning at noon CST/1:00 PM EST. Fans unable to attend the match can follow along with live stats and video that can be found here: https://www.slam.tennis/ita/indoors/2019/ncaa3w/bracket.
The Eagles continued their strong start to the spring season, earning their fourth straight shutout. Emory got off the solid start in doubles with sophomores Ysabel Gonzalez-Rico and Defne Olcay posted an 8-2 win on court two while senior Daniela Lopez and freshman Emma Cartledge upped their seasonal mark to 13-2 as they doubled up their foes on court two, 8-4. Sophomore Stephanie Taylor and freshman Christina Watson rounded out the double sweep, winning on court three 8-5.
In singles, the Eagles won five of the six matches in straight sets. At first singles, Gonzalez-Rico earned the 6-2, 6-3 and on court two, Lopez posted the 6-3, 6-3 triumph. On courts four, five and six, Cartledge, Taylor and freshman Jessica Fatemi all recorded convincing scores as Cartledge was a 6-1, 6-1 winner at fourth singles, Taylor 6-1, 6-2 at fifth singles and Fatemi 6-0, 6-1 on court six. Olcay concluded the match on court three, posting the 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 victory.
Both teams will enter Sunday with unblemished marks with Emory owning a 5-0 record and the Athenas carrying a 7-0 record. CMS reached the title match with a 7-2 win over the University of Chicago in the semifinals on Saturday.