Emory University junior Christina Watson saw her NCAA Championships singles run end Sunday afternoon, falling in straight sets to Williams' Erica Ekstrand in the national championship match, 6-2, 6-3, at the Champions Club in Chattanooga, TN.

Watson closes out her remarkable 2021 season in singles as the national runner-up with an overall record of 11-4 and garnered All-America honors in singles for the first time in her career.

The opening set of the championship featured both players finding it tough to win on serve as six of the eight points came on a break. After Watson broke serve to cut the deficit to 3-2, Ekstrand rattled off three consecutive points to win the set 6-2.

In the second, Ekstrand carried over the momentum, winning the first three games to hold a 3-0 advantage. Both players held serve for the next four games, giving Ekstrand the chance to serve for the title, leading 5-3. Watson fended off three different championship points in the game before Ekstrand was able to capture the win on championship point No. 4.

Watson's Sunday is not finished however as she will compete with Stephanie Taylor in the semifinals of the doubles bracket against UT-Dallas' Kathy Joseph and Sam Wong. One of two Emory doubles teams left standing as Ysabel Gonzalez-Rico and Katie Chang will also be competing, taking on Bethel's Grace and Maggie Reirmann on the other side of the draw. The championship will follow the semifinals later Sunday afternoon. Live stats and video of all remaining doubles matches can be found here: https://sewaneetigers.com/tournaments/tennis/2020-21/index.