For the second time in three days, the No. 3 ranked Emory University women's tennis team was entrenched in a marathon battle but came out on the unfortunate end as No. 6 Wesleyan University defeated the Eagles 4-3 in the fifth place match at the ITA Indoor National Championships in Nashville, Tennessee.
Emory once again flourished in doubles with wins on the top two courts to claim the point. Seniors Emily Kantrovitz and Iris Berman registered a 6-3 decision prior to senior Izzy Antanavicius and junior Yanire Marte finishing minutes later with a 6-4 win. When doubles play was abandoned, sophomore Rachel Hernandez and freshman Holyn Karp were locked up at 4-4 on court three.
The Cardinals responded with a flurry as Wesleyan claimed three consecutive points to start singles as Berman, Marte and Hernandez fell in straight sets on courts two, four and six.
Kantrovitz and Antanavicius kept the Eagles alive with their three-set wins on court one and three with both Eagles rallying from dropping the first set. Kantrovitz answered with 6-3, 6-4 winning sets after dropping the opener 2-6 and Antanavicius bounced back 6-4, 6-1 following a 4-6 setback in her first set.
With score knotted at 3-3, Karp was remaining Eagle standing on court five. Karp started her match with a 6-4 win but Wesleyan's Maria Natalia Leroy Garibay countered with back-to-back set wins 7-5, 6-4 to give the Cardinals the narrow victory.
The Eagles will return to the courts next week during their spring break trip with matches on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia. Emory's trip will begin with a meeting against No. 1 WashU on March 11th on Hilton Head Island.
