Emory’s women’s and men’s tennis teams won the University Athletic Association (UAA) championships on Saturday, April 22, and Sunday, April 23, respectively in Altamonte Springs, Florida.
It was the fifth consecutive and the 28th overall UAA title in program history for the women’s tennis team, which defeated 9th-ranked University of Chicago, 5-4, in a thrilling title match.
The men's tennis team claimed its third consecutive UAA title by defeating Washington University in the championship final. This was the 26th time in 30 seasons that Emory has won the men's title.
Emory women defeat Chicago for championship
The Emory women's team faced off against the University of Chicago in the UAA championship. With the deciding match deadlocked at 4-4, junior Bridget Harding rallied from a first set deficit to deal Chicago’s Ariana Iranpour a 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 loss at first singles to claim the championship point for the Eagles.
Emory fell behind the Maroons in the early stages of the match as Chicago stood victorious in two of the three doubles matches. Harding and senior Katarina Su were the lone victors, edging Rachel Kim and Marjorie Antohi 8-4 at first doubles.
However, the Eagles started singles play strong, winning three straight points to move in front 4-2. Senior Melissa Goodman collected her sixth consecutive win to improve to 18-9, winning her fifth singles match 6-3, 6-1. At fourth singles, Su notched her eighth consecutive victory to move to 21-5, downing Tiffany Chen 6-3, 6-0. Sophomore Daniela Lopez dropped Kim, 6-4, 6-0, to put Emory ahead by two.
Chicago answered with wins at second and sixth singles to set up a winner-take-all match at first singles with Harding coming out on top in three sets.
Emory will close out the regular season next Saturday, April 29, with the final match of the regular season against Georgia Gwinnett College. The match is scheduled to begin at noon and will be held on the WoodPEC Outdoor Courts.
Emory men beat Washington for title
The No. 2-ranked Eagles raised their overall record to 17-4 (3-0 UAA) following an 8-1 triumph over the No. 6 Washington Bears to win the UAA championship.
Emory won all three doubles matches. Junior Max Renke and sophomore Adrien Bouchet defeated Jeremy Bush and J.J. Kroot, 8-4. Junior Scott Rubinstein and sophomore James Spaulding emerged with an 8-4 decision over Jason Haugen and Konrad Kozlowski. Junior David Omsky and sophomore Jonathan Jemison rounded out doubles with an exciting 9-7 verdict against Bernardo Neves and Radha Vishnubhotla at No. 3.
In singles, Jemison propelled Emory to a 4-0 lead after getting the better of John Carswell, 6-1, 6-4. Bouchet then recorded the fifth and winning point with a 6-4, 6-4 triumph against Bernardo Neves.
Senior Aman Manji gained a 6-0, 6-4 victory in his match. Rubinstein increased the Eagles' margin to 7-0 after topping Shaun Berman at No. 6, 7-5, 6-4. After WU came away with its lone point at No. 5, Alec Josepher rounded out the Emory singles victors with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-2, decision against Bush.