Emory Rally Falls Short -- Drops 5-4 Decision To UC-Santa Cruz In NCAA Semifinals

The No. 2-ranked Emory men's tennis team saw its bid for a national title fall short Wednesday after as a furious rally fell short in a 5-4 setback to No. 3-ranked UC-Santa Cruz in the semifinals of the NCAA Division III Championships. The loss dropped the Eagles' overall mark to 20-4 while the Slugs will take a record of 18-7 into the championship contest on Thursday.

Emory faced an uphill battle after falling behind by a 3-0 margin following doubles play.  The Eagles began their comeback at No. 5 singles with junior Oliver Lopp posting a 6-2, 6-2 decision over Colin-Mark Griffin.  Senior Mark Boren kept Emory's momentum going with a solid 6-4, 6-3 triumph over Max Ortiz at No. 3.  Boren's victory upped his season dual record to 21-2.  Freshman Chris Goodwin's 6-4, 6-1 win at No. 2 singles over Jared Kamel enabled the Eagles to tie the match at 3-3.   After UC-Santa Cruz reclaimed the lead following the conclusion of the No. 4 singles match, Eagles' senior Michael Goodwin recorded a 6-4, 6-4 victory against Max Liberty-Point that knotted the battle at 4-4.  Finally, the outcome was decided at No. 6 singles where the Slugs' Mark Vartabedian sealed the outcome with a straight-set win.

Emory will play in the third-place match on Thursday against the loser of the Washington University - Williams semifinal match.  The third-place match will begin at 3:00 p.m. (EDT).

Doubles
1. Max Liberty-Point/Ilya Gendelman (UCSC) def. Mike Goodwin/Chris Goodwin 8-5
2. Jared Kamel/Marc Vartabedian (UCSC) def. MArk Boren/David Caplan 8-1
3. Max Ortiz/Colin Mark-Griffin (UCSC) def. Chris Jordan/Colin Egan 8-5

Singles
1. Michael Goodwin (EMORY) def. Max Liberty-Point (UCSC) 6-4, 6-4
2. Chris Goodwin (EMORY) def. Jared Kamel (UCSC) 6-4, 6-1
3. Mark Boren (EMORY) def. Max Ortiz (UCSC) 6-4, 6-3
4. Ilya Gendelman (UCSC) def. Colin Egan (EMORY 6-3, 6-3
5. Oliver Lopp (EMORY) def. Colin Mark-Griffin (UCSC) 6-2, 6-2
6. Mark Vartabedian (UCSC) def. Chris Redmond (EMORY) 6-4, 6-4

(Order of completion 5,3,2,4,1,6)