The fourth-ranked Emory University women's tennis team ran its winning streak to seven matches, edging 10th-ranked Johns Hopkins University 5-4 at the Woodruff P.E. Center on Wednesday.
The win, which raised Emory's record to 7-2 on the season, kicked off a three-match stretch against teams ranked in the top-10 in Division III.
Emory's first doubles pairing of sophomore Gabrielle Clark and senior Zahra Dawson got the Eagles off to a good start, defeating Hopkins' Hailey Hogan and Nandita Krishnan 8-6. The Eagles extended their lead with an 8-4 win from sophomores Malavika Padmanabhan and Brenna Kelly over Abby Clark and Shannon Herndon in second doubles. However, the Blue Jays got a point back from Emory in third doubles, where the Eagles' combination of freshmen Danielle Truitt and Catharine Harris fell 8-6 to Elaine Baik and Courtney Boger.
Clark was dominating in the first singles match for Emory, defeating Baik 6-1, 6-0. However, the Blue Jays closed the gap with a win in the third singles match, as Dawson fell to Krishnan 6-4, 6-2. Padmanabhan brought the Eagles a point away from victory with a win in the fourth singles match, 6-3, 6-2, but again Hopkins responded, as Hogan bested Wylie 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in the second singles contest. With the score at 4-3, sophomore Taylor Brandt clinched the match for the Eagles with a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 victory over Clark at fifth singles. Rounding out the match, Harris dropped a 2-6, 6-3, 6-1 decision to Stephanie Rettig in the sixth singles match.
With the loss, Johns Hopkins dropped to 3-3 on the year.
The Eagles will continue to face tough Division III opponents over the next week, heading to Lexington, Virginia for the Fab 5 Tournament. Emory will take on top-ranked Williams College at noon on Friday, March 23rd, and third-ranked Washington and Lee University on Saturday, March 24th.
