Emory Men's Tennis Tops Wash U. In NCAA Semifinals -- Will Battle Amherst For D-III Crown
The No. 1-ranked Emory men's tennis team has earned a spot in
the title match round of the NCAA Division III Championships
following a 5-0 victory in the semifinals over No. 6-ranked
Washington University Wednesday evening. Matches are taking place
at the Biszantz Family Tennis Center and Pauley Tennis Complex in
Claremont, California. The victory boosts the Eagles’
overall record to 24-3 while the Bears concluded their year at
19-6.
Emory battled through a determined Wash U. squad and took both a
3-0 lead and the match’s momentum following the doubles
action. The No. 1 team of junior Chris Goodwin and classmate
Will Humphreys picked up the Eagles’ first point of the
evening with an 8-4 triumph over Isaac Stein and Max Woods,
their 30th win overall this season. With that outcome
decided, the Nos. 2 & 3 matches developed into battle royals
that saw some outstanding tennis played. Senior Colin Egan
and junior Dillon Pottish faced a 5-7 deficit, but roared back to
come away with an inspiring 9-7 win at the No. 3spot over Gary
Parizher and Adam Putterman, upping Emory’s margin to
2-0. Sophomore Noah Simonson and Ayush Bajoria then closed
out the sweep with an intense 9-8 decision (7-3 tiebreaker) against
Kareem Farah and Cameron Chiang.
Goodwin provided the Eagles with one of the two singles points
needed to send them to the championship match when he notched a
6-2, 6-1 verdict over Woods at No. 2, his 26th win in 29
tries this season. Pottish would go onto to finish out the
match with his 6-2, 6-1 decision over Stein at No. 1 boosting his
overall won-lost slate to 32-2, 23-1 this spring.
Emory will tangle with No. 2-ranked Amherst University (35-1) in
the championship clash on Thursday. The Lord Jeffs earned a
spot in the finals following a 5-1 triumph over Williams in the
semis. It will mark the seventh time in the 12-year tenure as head
coach that John Browning has directed the Eagles to a berth in the
championship contest. Emory won its last national title in
2006. The teams are slated to square off at 5:00 p.m.
(EDT). The match will be video streamed on www.ncaa.com
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