The Emory Athletics weekly preview for March 31^st through April 6^th. This preview is to serve as a weekly snapshot of all upcoming athletic events for the coming week.
 
Softball:
The No. 21 ranked Emory softball team (20-2, 6-0 UAA) is off to its best start since 2016 when the team started 21-1. The Eagles are winners of 13 straight games, including an undefeated 6-0 start to the UAA season. They'll look to keep the streak alive this weekend as they host the No. 15 ranked Case Western Reserve Spartans for a three-game slate.
 
The Eagles have been dominant over their 13-game winning streak, with 10 of the wins being by at least two runs. It has been a balanced approach from Emory this year, averaging over six runs per game while the pitching staff has pitched to a 2.01 ERA. The Eagles have scored their runs without needing the longball to do so, averaging just 0.23 home runs per game.
 
Sophomore Ellie Zerr has been on a tear as of late and it was no different this past weekend in Pittsburgh. Zerr went 7-for-11 at the dish with three home runs, 10 RBI and one walk in the series sweep over Carnegie Mellon. The sophomore has now recorded an RBI in each of the Eagles' six UAA games this season. Even more impressive, Zerr has struck out just once in the last 15 games. Among UAA players, she ranks first in RBI this season with 30 and second in slugging percentage at .724.
 
In the circle, it has been Mackenzie Duford holding it down for the Eagles. Her 1.72 ERA after 53.0 innings of work ranks second in the UAA. She's missed a lot of bats as well, retiring 39 batters via the strikeout this season, which ranks third among all UAA pitchers. This past weekend, she pitched a complete game allowing just three hits and one run in a win over the Tartans.
 
The Eagles are in sole possession of first place in the UAA standings, with WashU just a game behind at 5-1. Their opponent this weekend, Case Western Reserve, took on WashU a couple of weekends ago to open their conference slate and went 1-2.
 
The Spartans have played four non-conference games since the series against WashU, going 4-0 in those games as they'll come to Atlanta riding a bit of momentum. Case Western Reserve is hitting .301 this season and the pitching staff has an ERA below 3.00. During their four-game winning streak, the Spartans are averaging 8.75 runs per game.
 
KaiLi Gross leads the way at the dish for the Spartans, hitting .500 this season with a UAA-leading seven home runs. Gross is 6-for-11 over the Spartans' last four games, including two home runs in their most recent game against Denison. Lexi Miskey is the ace of the staff, pitching to a 2.61 ERA and holding opponents to a .207 batting average. She is 9-3 this season in 16 appearances.
 
The series is set to get started on Friday, April 4^th at 3:00 PM. The two teams will meet for a doubleheader on Saturday, April 5^th with game one scheduled for a 12:00 PM start. All three games will take place at Emory's Cooper Field in Atlanta, Georgia. Saturday's games will feature an Emory softball jersey giveaway along with Chick-Fil-A, while supplies last.
 
When/Where:

• Friday, April 4^th – vs #15 Case Western Reserve – 3:00 PM – Cooper Field (Atlanta, GA)
• Saturday, April 5^th – vs #15 Case Western Reserve (DH) – 12:00 PM / 2:00 PM – Cooper Field (Atlanta, GA)
  • Emory Softball Jersey and Chick-Fil-A Giveaway

 
Coverage:

• Video
• Live Stats

 
Baseball:
The Emory baseball team (17-7, 3-1 UAA) got out to a strong start to UAA play, earning a series win over the NYU Violets. The Emory offense stayed hot, scoring 44 runs over the four games, including a 19-run performance in the series finale. They'll head north to Cleveland, Ohio this weekend, set to take on the reigning UAA champion Case Western Reserve Spartans.
 
The Eagles have leaned on their bats this season, averaging 9.7 runs per game which ranks among the top-20 in all of Division III. They've done so by hitting .324 and slugging .483 as a collective. They've also capitalized on impressive discipline at the dish, leading the UAA in walks with 135.
 
The biggest story of the season has been the second-year jump from sophomore Aidan Conley. The sophomore is leading the offense in nearly every offensive metric, namely batting average, hits, slugging percentage and is tied for the lead in home runs with seven. This sudden burst of power comes a year after he did not hit a single home run. Conley is riding a seven-game hitting streak into the weekend, and went eight-for-18 this past weekend with eight RBI, two home runs, and two doubles. Among UAA players, Conley is third in batting average and slugging percentage at .421 and .800, respectively.
 
Junior Josh Zuckerman has had a nice start to his season, boasting a 4.11 ERA, the best among all starters. He got touched up a bit in his first start of the UAA season, giving up five runs and struggled with control, granting six free passes. Yet, the offense was able to bail him out as Emory took the win in the series opener. While his ERA has ballooned to over 4.00, he is holding opponents to a .198 batting average while punching out 38 batters this season.
 
The Emory pitching staff will have its hands full this weekend with Case Western Reserve. The Spartans lead all UAA teams in home runs, hitting 26 this season while owning a .313 batting average. Nick Harms has been the leader for Case Western Reserve with a .424 batting average and seven home runs this season. After starting his first three games of the season hitless, he has since recorded a hit in 19 straight games while slugging .847.
 
While the offense is one of the best in the nation, the Spartans' pitching staff has lagged behind. The staff owns an ERA of 6.28 and have given up 63 total runs over their last five games. Despite this, the Spartans got off to a 3-1 start in UAA play with wins over WashU.
 
The battle between a couple of the nation's top lineups will start on Friday, April 4^th with first pitch scheduled for 3:00 PM. The two will play a doubleheader on Saturday, starting at 12:00 PM, followed by the series finale on Sunday at 11:00 AM. All four games will be played at Case Western Reserve's Nobby's Ballpark in Cleveland, Ohio.
 
When/Where:

• Friday, April 4^th – vs RV Case Western Reserve – 3:00 PM – Nobby's Ballpark (Cleveland, OH)
• Saturday, April 5^th – vs RV Case Western Reserve (DH) – 12:00 PM / 3:00 PM – Nobby's Ballpark (Cleveland, OH)
• Sunday, April 6^th – vs RV Case Western Reserve – 11:00 AM – Nobby's Ballpark (Cleveland, OH)

 
Coverage:

• Video
• Live Stats

 
Men's Tennis:
Having dropped three straight dual matches, the No. 7 ranked Emory men's tennis team (7-4) is looking to get back on track this weekend with three tilts against ranked opponents on tap. They'll play three neutral matches this weekend on the campus of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
 
The story of the season has been the emergence of freshman Ruilin Feng. Despite losing his past two matches, Feng is 7-2 in dual matches this spring, playing in the No. 1 and 2 position. He's been a force in doubles as well, playing alongside sophomore Christian Liew. The duo of underclassmen are winners of six straight and are 7-1 this spring.
 
Junior Dean Kamenev has rebounded in singles play as of late, elevating his record to 4-3 after a rocky start to his spring. He has teamed up with freshman Ajay Kartik in the No. 1 doubles spot and played to a 4-4 record. Graduate students Efe Comu and Charley Force are 5-3 this season, playing in No. 3 doubles. Force has been solid in singles play as well, sitting at 5-3 this season.
 
The Eagles will take on #26 NC Wesleyan first on Friday, April 4^th. NC Wesleyan has struggled as of late, having lost five of their last six matches by wide margins. The Battling Bishops struggles have come against all teams ranked inside of the top-20. They got back on track with a 7-0 sweep over Mary Baldwin. Luca Knese plays in the top spot in singles for NC Wesleyan, as he'll likely face off with Feng.
 
Next up in Virginia will be #16 Johns Hopkins. Similar to the Battling Bishops, the Blue Jays have struggled against top-ranked opponents as of late. They've suffered losses to #8 Bowdoin, #3 Tufts, #2 Chicago, and #4 Denison in the past couple of weeks. Yet, they did earn a win over #11 Trinity and swept Salisbury this past weekend. Chakor Rajendra plays No. 1 singles for the Blue Jays as he'll likely meet with the rookie sensation, Feng.
 
Emory will wrap up with a rematch with #8 Swarthmore. The two programs met earlier this year at the ITA Indoor National Championships with Emory taking a convincing 4-1 win. A storyline to watch is Force getting a second shot at his former team. Force transferred to Emory after playing his undergraduate career with Swarthmore. With the match played to clinch, Force did not have the chance to finish either his doubles or singles match and will look to earn a win over his former squad this time around. The match against Swarthmore will take place on Sunday, April 6^th.
 
All three matches will be played on a neutral site at the Mary Washington Tennis Center.
 
When/Where:

• Friday, April 4^th – vs #26 NC Wesleyan – 4:00 PM – Mary Washington Tennis Center (Fredericksburg, VA)
• Saturday, April 5^th – vs #16 Johns Hopkins – 1:00 PM – Mary Washington Tennis Center (Fredericksburg, VA)
• Sunday, April 6^th – vs #8 Swarthmore – 9:00 AM – Mary Washington Tennis Center (Fredericksburg, VA)

 
Coverage:

• TBA

 
Track and Field:
For the third straight weekend, the Emory track and field programs will host a meet at their home track in Atlanta, Georgia. The event will be a one-day affair, on Saturday, April 5^th as they host the Emory Dooley Elite Meet.
 
This past weekend, the Eagles hosted the Emory Thrills in the Hills. Graduate student Nikki Boon continued to make history this season, as she shattered the Division III record in the heptathlon. After nearly breaking the program record in the 100m hurdles, Boon closed out the event with wins in the long jump, javelin, and 800m to record a score of 5,638. Her record broke the record of 5,471 which was set in 2021.
 
Freshman Ari Klasky continues to dominate in his rookie year as well, setting yet another program record this past weekend. Klasky won the discus event with a mark of 46.45m and set the new program record.
 
The Emory sprint relay teams continued to flourish as well. The foursome of Kaya Binetti, Dashiel Tao Harris, Audrey Johnson, and Eva Carchidi took first with a time of 46.78 in the 4x100m. Maura Dianno, Kylie Hanson, Paige Murdock, and Samantha Glass also took second in the 4x200m. The men's 4x100m team also took a first place finish with Sam Ryba, Joshua Han, Henry Brandstadter, and Jackson Price taking first with a time of 41.15.
 
The Emory Dooley Elite Meet will be a one-day event, taking place at the Emory Woodruff P.E. Center Track on Saturday, April 5^th.
 
When/Where:

• Saturday, April 5^th – Emory Dooley Elite Meet – All Day – Woodruff P.E. Center Track (Atlanta, GA)

 
Coverage:

• TBA

 
Men's Golf:
After having the past weekend off, the No. 5 ranked Emory men's golf team will head to Montgomery, Alabama for the Capitol City Classic. The event will feature some of the nation's top teams, including #2 Washington & Lee, #3 Sewanee, #8 Huntingdon, #10 Lynchburg, and #11 Carnegie Mellon among others. The event will be played at the RTJ Capitol Hill's Senator course.
 
The Eagles are coming off a third-place finish at the Jekyll Island Collegiate Invitational. The field in Jekyll Island was a highly competitive one, and the Eagles were just a few strokes off the eventual winner. Sophomore Kevin Mu had his best tournament of his Emory career, shooting a 213 (-3). The showing saw him soar from unranked to the 25^th ranked golfer in Division III with a scoring average of 70.9.
 
Junior Brian Hanson had a successful backend of his tournament at the Jekyll Island Collegiate. After shooting eight-over-par in his opening round, he bounced back to shoot a 68 (-4) and 72 (E) to finish his tournament. Hanson is Emory's top-ranked golfer, sitting at #16.
 
Senior Josh Qian had a couple of impressive rounds as well a couple of weeks back. His first and third rounds saw him shoot a 69 (-3) and 70 (-2) but a middle round shooting an 80 (+8) saw him finish just outside of the top 30.
 
The event in Montgomery will be a 54-hole event with a two rounds to be played on Monday, April 7^th and a final round to be played on Tuesday, April 8^th.
 
When/Where:

• Monday, April 7^th-Tuesday, April 8^th – Capitol City Classic – RTJ Capitol Hill Senator Course (Montgomery, AL)

 
Coverage:

• Live Results