The No. 2 ranked Emory University women's tennis team is headed back to the title match of the UAA Championships after taking down No. 9 ranked Carnegie Mellon University, 4-1, in the semifinals Friday afternoon at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Florida.
It will be a battle of the two top ranked teams in the country Saturday morning as the Eagles will be pitted against No. 1 ranked and top-seeded UChicago in the championship bout. It will be the eighth consecutive time Emory and the Maroons have squared off in the title match. Saturday will also mark the third time so far this season both programs have met on the courts with UC taking the first meeting, 5-2, in the semifinals match of ITA Indoors before the second meeting in Atlanta at the end of March came down to the final singles point.
The Eagles will be looking for their 31st UAA crown in their storied history, first since 2019, and have appeared in the championship match in each season since its inception in 1988.
Friday afternoon started with the Eagles taking the doubles point with wins on courts one and three. Junior Emily Kantrovitz and graduate student Dakota Fordham returned to the win column with a 6-2 win in 34 minutes on the top court.
The Tartans drew even with a 6-3 verdict on court two but a 6-4 decision from senior Eliza McPherron and sophomore Yanire Marte pushed the Eagles to the 1-0 lead.
Heading into singles, Carnegie Mellon notched the first point as junior Izzy Antanavicius fell on court two by a 2-6, 2-6 line.
However, over the next 30 minutes the Eagles were able to claim the next two points with Kantrovitz securing the 6-2, 7-6 (6) win at the No. 1 spot before junior Iris Berman registered a 6-2, 6-2 to put the Eagles on the brink of victory.
The match ultimately came down to the final spots in the lineup with two of three matches battling into third sets.
McPherron was the hero in the semifinals as she claimed the final singles point with her 6-4, 7-6 (8) line on court five. After taking the first set, McPherron trailed in the second set 4-5 prior to taking the next two games to move ahead 6-5. Her CMU counterpart answered though by forcing a tiebreaker with the next game.
In the tiebreak, McPherron once again found herself on the brink as she stood behind 8-7 but fought her way through the next three points to clinch the set and the match win for the Eagles.
When play concluded, Marte and Fordham were locked in three-setters with Marte standing 6-2, 3-6, 0-3 on court four and Fordham down 3-2 in the final set after forcing a third with a 2-6, 7-5 line.
The championship match is scheduled to get underway at 8:30 AM on Saturday.
