After nearly a four month hiatus, the No. 3 ranked Emory University women's tennis team returns to the courts with a Friday afternoon match against four-time NAIA defending champion Georgia Gwinnett College. First serve is scheduled for 1:30 PM in Lawrenceville.
The Eagles are coming off a solid fall season where the team recorded a .644 winning percentage in singles action (65-36) and added a 34-17 mark in doubles, good for a .667 winning percentage.
Freshman Alexa Goetz, ranked No. 6 in singles at the end of the fall, highlighted the Eagles with a team-high nine singles victories (9-3) and was crowned the ITA South regional singles champion. Joining Goetz as nationally ranked heading into the spring are sophomore Emma Cartledge (8-6 in the fall; ITA South singles runner-up) in the 15th position followed by junior Defne Olcay (4-6) at No. 26 and sophomore Christina Watson (5-4) at No. 33.
Junior Ysabel Gonzalez-Rico is unranked to begin the spring season after not playing in the fall due to studying abroad. She figures to slot into the top of the Eagles lineups once again this spring and is coming off a stellar sophomore campaign where she captured the NCAA Division III singles championship and tied the program record with 34 singles victories (34-7).
In doubles, the Eagles feature three tandems ranked nationally entering the spring, led by the Goetz and Watson pairing. The ITA South regional doubles champs went 7-6 overall during the fall slate and are slotted eighth in the ITA Division III rankings. ITA Cup quarterfinalists Olcay and Cartledge are seated ninth nationally following a 7-3 fall ledger while junior Stephanie Taylor and sophomore Lauren Yoon are ranked 25th after posting a 2-1 record together in the fall.
Friday's match with GGC marks the ninth official meeting between the two programs dating back 2014. After the Eagles won the first four meetings, the Grizzlies have earned the decision the last four times out to even the all-time series at 4-4.
The match is slated to be broadcasted live on GGCathletics.com and can be streamed here: https://ggcathletics.com/watch/?Live=202&type=Live