The No. 2 ranked Emory University women's tennis team opened its postseason run Saturday morning with a 4-0 blanking of North Carolina Wesleyan in the second round of the NCAA Championships played at Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia.
The Eagles took care of business against the Battling Bishops to advance to the regional final where they await the winner of Swarthmore or the host Generals. The regional final will take place at 11:00 AM in Lexington with a spot in the quarterfinals on the line.
Emory's doubles teams set the tone early on Saturday morning as the Eagles secured 6-1 wins on both courts one and three to secure the doubles point. Graduate student Dakota Fordham and junior Emily Kantrovitz were the first to finish on the top court before senior Eliza McPherron and sophomore Yanire Marte concluded their triumph minutes later on court three.
When doubles action was abandoned, the Eagles also held a lead on court two where juniors Izzy Antanavicius and Iris Berman were ahead by a 5-3 margin.
With the doubles point in hand, Emory quickly put an end to the match with three singles wins within 75 minutes.
Fordham was impressive on court six as she did not drop a single game to increase the Emory advantage with a 6-0, 6-0 whitewashing on court six.
Eleven minutes later, Antanavicius put the Eagles on the brink of victory as she put away her opponent with a 6-1, 6-1 line. On court five, McPherron notched the clinching point with a decisive 6-0, 6-1 margin.
When play concluded, Emory was comfortably leading in the three remaining matches with Kantrovitz ahead 6-1, 3-4 on court one, Berman leading 6-2, 2-0 on court three and Marte in front 6-1, 2-2 on court four.
The Eagles will be looking for their 17th consecutive appearance in the quarterfinals when play gets underway Sunday morning in Virginia.
