The Emory University men's tennis team headed back to the national quarterfinals during the 2024-25 season, marking the 33rd consecutive season the Eagles have advanced to the Elite Eight.
Emory won at least 17 matches for the third straight year as the Eagles finished with a 17-7 record. To go along with a trip to the final national site, the team's season featured third place finishes at both the ITA Indoor National Championships in late February and at the University Athletic Association championships in April.
Four different players captured ITA All-America honors during the season with freshman standout Ruilin Feng being the lone Eagle to secure All-America status for both singles and doubles.
Feng burst onto the scene as he teamed with Christian Liew to win the doubles title at the ITA South regional tournament in the fall and finished with a team-leading 20 singles victories. At the NCAA Individual Championships, Feng advanced to the Round of 16 as he was one of two Eagles in the singles draw.
Feng also formed Emory's most consistent doubles teams on the season with Liew. In addition to their ITA regional win, the tandem went 23-7 together including a 16-4 record during the spring and qualified for the doubles draw at the NCAA Championships in Claremont, California.
The Eagles' lineup was also bolstered by a pair of graduate transfers, notably Efe Comu. Following a standout career at Rollins, Comu joined the Eagles and provided depth to the lineup. In the fall, Comu made his presence known as he made his way through the singles draw of the ITA South regional and topped teammate John Lasanajak in the championship match. In the spring, Comu was one of four Eagles to win at least 10 singles matches and joined Feng in the singles bracket at the NCAA Championships. A Second Team All-UAA pick, Comu also highlighted the Eagles in the classroom as he earned Academic All-America Second Team honors from the College Sports Communicators organization.
Comu and Feng were two of four Eagles featured on the All-UAA list with Feng being honored as a First Team selection in both singles and doubles. Furthermore, the Eagles had two members featured on the regional level as Assistant Coach Ian Melnik and junior Dean Kamanev collected a pair of end-of-season awards from the ITA.
Â
The Eagles earned the following awards during the 2024-25 season.Â
NCAA Division III Championships Participant
|
Rulin Feng
|
Singles (Round of 16), Doubles (Round of 16)
|
Efe Comu
|
Singles (Round of 32)
|
Christian Liew
|
Doubles (Round of 16)
|
Â
|
All-America (Intercollegiate Tennis Association)
|
Efe Comu
|
Singles
|
Ruilin Feng
|
Singles, Doubles
|
Christian Liew
|
Doubles
|
John Lasanajak
|
Singles
|
Â
|
CSC Academic All-America
|
Efe Comu
|
Second Team
|
Â
|
ITA South Region Champion
|
Efe Comu
|
Singles
|
Rulin Feng & Christian Liew
|
Doubles
|
Â
|
ITA Cup Participants
|
Efe Comu
|
Singles (Quarterfinals)
|
John Lasanajak
|
Singles (Quarterfinals)
|
Christian Liew & Ruilin Feng
|
Doubles (Round of 16)
|
Â
|
ITA Atlantic South Assistant Coach of the Year
|
Ian Melnik
|
|
ITA Atlantic South Regional Most Improved Player
|
Dean Kamenev
|
Â
|
All-University Athletic Association
|
Ruilin Feng
|
First Team (No. 1/No. 2 Singles), First Team (No. 1 Doubles)
|
Christian Liew
|
First Team (No. 1 Doubles), Honorable Mention (No. 4 Singles)
|
Efe Comu
|
Second Team (No. 3 Singles), Honorable Mention (No. 2 Doubles)
|
Ajay Kartik
|
Honorable Mention (No. 6 Singles/No. 2 Doubles)
|
Â
|
UAA Athlete of the Week
|
Ruilin Feng
|
Oct. 1, Feb. 17, Feb. 24, March 3, April 7
|
Christian Liew
|
Oct. 1, Oct. 21, April 21
|
Efe Comu
|
Oct. 7, May 12
|