From Emory University Athletics
Three members of the Emory University Women's Tennis team advanced to the semifinals in singles and an all-Emory final is set in doubles as the ITA South Regional Championships continued Saturday afternoon in Atlanta, GA.
In the top half of the singles draw, top-seed sophomore Ysabel Gonzalez-Rico and fourth-seed senior Daniela Lopez will make return trips to the semifinals following a pair of wins on Saturday. Gonzalez-Rico defeated teammates Sasha Hartje (6-1, 6-2) and Stephanie Taylor (6-3, 6-4) while Lopez bested Eagle newcomers Jessica Fatemi (6-1, 6-2) and Emma Cartledge (6-4, 6-1) on their way to the final four.
Joining Gonzalez-Rico and Lopez in the singles semifinals will be sophomore Defne Olcay who will take on second-seed Fariza Abdulloeva of North Carolina Wesleyan. Olcay whitewashed Sewanee's Ellie Czura 6-0, 6-0 in the Round of 16 before topping North Carolina Wesleyan's Milena Amedieva 6-2, 6-4 in the quarterfinals. Abdulloeva had to go through a pair of Eagles on her way to the semifinals, first beating sophomore Katie Chang 6-1, 6-3 in the Round of 16 before rallying to defeat freshman Lauren Yoon 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the quarters.
In the doubles draw, an all-Emory championship is set after two rounds of competition on Saturday. Top seeds Gonzalez-Rico and Fatemi will face Lopez and Cartledge in Sunday's final after both duos won a pair of matches on Saturday. Gonzalez-Rico and Fatemi defeated Rhodes' Dasha Safarian and Michelle Aden-Pol, 8-0, in the quarterfinals before beating Chang and Yoon in the semis, 8-5. Lopez and Cartledge got past Centre's Neha Rao and Hannah Doherty, 8-1, before edging Olcay and Taylor, 8-4.