The Emory University women's tennis team swept a doubleheader against nationally-ranked NCAA Division III teams, defeating ninth-ranked Washington & Lee University 8-1 and shutting out 14th-ranked DePauw University 9-0 in Spartanburg, SC.
The Eagles wrapped up a perfect 3-0 weekend, improving to 11-2 on the season. Emory has now won 11-straight contests in a row, and has not lost to a Division III team this season. Washington & Lee dropped to 10-3 on the season with the loss, while DePauw fell to 3-5.
In the early affair against Washington & Lee, Emory jumped out to a 2-1 lead after doubles, with wins from junior Zahra Dawson and sophomore Jordan Wylie (8-5) in the second match, and from freshmen Brenna Kelly and Malavika Padmanabhan (8-4) in the third. In the first doubles match, freshman Gabrielle Clark and Lorne McManigle suffered their first loss together, falling 8-6.
Emory received straight-set victories in singles play from Clark in first singles (6-2, 7-5), Wylie in second singles (6-1, 6-3), and junior Laura Callava in sixth singles (6-3, 6-0). McManigle won her third-singles match 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, while Dawson won in fourth singles 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, and Padmanabhan won in fifth singles 4-6, 6-1, 6-0, capping off the 8-1 win.
In the late match, Emory claimed a victory over DePauw for the second time this month, after claiming an 8-1 at the ITA Indoor Championships on March 4th. Emory swept through the doubles matches for the fourth time in the last five matches, with McManigle and Clark winning 8-4 in first doubles, Dawson and Wylie claiming an 8-1 win in second doubles, and Kelly and Padmanabhan finished off the sweep with a 8-5 win in third doubles.
The Eagles were dominant again in singles play, winning all six matches in straight sets. Clark did not surrender a game in the first singles match with a 6-0, 6-0 win, while Wylie claimed a 6-3, 6-3 win in the second singles contest. McManigle (6-4, 6-2), Dawson (6-1, 6-1), Padmanabhan (6-2, 6-2) and Kelly (7-5, 6-2) each claimed victories in their singles matches as well.
Emory will continue a string of matches against ranked Division III opponents next week, as the Eagles will host the Fab 10 Tournament, starting against Middlebury College on March 25th at 7:00 PM.
