From Emory University Athletics
The No. 1-ranked Emory University women's tennis team clinched a berth in the 2016 NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Championship Match following a 5-1 victory over Middlebury College on Tuesday afternoon at Stowe Stadium on the campus of Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It will be Emory's fourth straight appearance in the title match and the 11th overall in program history.
The Eagles (27-5) will be in search of their seventh national championship when the title match kicks off at 3:00 PM on Wednesday afternoon at Stowe Stadium, having won previously in 1996, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2014. Emory's opponent in the match will either be second-ranked Williams College (21-3) or sixth-ranked Bowdoin University (15-6). The Eagles defeated both teams earlier this season, having knocked off the Ephs, 5-4, on March 30th and the Polar Bears by an 8-1 decision on April 17th.
Fans not able to be in attendance can still follow the action with live updating results and a free video stream. Links can be found here on the tournament page: http://hornets.kzoo.edu/tournaments/tennis/2015-16/index.
Juniors Michelle Satterfield and Paula Castro opened doubles play on Tuesday by doubling up Middlebury's Alexandra Fields and Christina Puccinelli, 8-4, for the point on the third doubles court. Junior Katarina Su and sophomore Bridget Harding claimed their 15th victories in their last 16 matches with an 8-3 successful decision for the second doubles point. Sophomore Anna Fuhr and senior Madison Gordon made it a clean Emory sweep in doubles for the fourth consecutive match as the duo knocked off the Polar Bears' Molly Paradies and Ria Gerger by a score of 8-4 in the no.1 doubles.
Gordon stayed perfect during the spring season by winning her 21st straight singles match and 27th overall on the campaign, to give Emory a 4-0 advantage. The senior blanked Kaysee Orozco 6-0, 6-0 for the fifth singles point. The triumph marked Gordon's 82nd career singles victory, moving her into a tie for fourth place on Emory's all-time career wins list.
Middlebury made it 4-1 as Gerger defeated Harding in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 for the win on court one. It was the first match the Eagles had surrendered in the 2016 NCAA tournament, snapping a 19-match winning streak.
However, just mere seconds after Gerger put the Polar Bears on the scoreboard, Satterfield came through with the match point in the second singles match (6-1, 6-1) to send Emory to the national championship.
At the time the match was decided, Emory was leading in the final three singles matches: senior Beatrice Rosen in third singles (6-4, 1-0), Castro in fourth singles (6-4, 4-2) and Su in sixth singles (6-1, 3-5).
The Eagles improved to 11-6 in semifinal matches and a perfect 4-0 over Middlebury in the NCAA tournament. The Polar Bears finish their season with an overall record 16-5.