Emory and Amherst to Meet in Finals

Memphis, TN---For the second straight day, play at the 2004 NCAA Division III Women's Tennis Championships was forced indoors due to rain, and the semifinal action was played at the indoor courts of the Racquet Club of Memphis. In the top half of the draw, the defending National Champion Emory Eagles defeated Atlantic South regional foe Washington & Lee by a score of 5-0, while the Amherst Jeffs advanced by defeating Northeast regional rival Williams by a score of 5-3 in the bottom half of the draw.

In the first match of the day, Emory got off to a quick start by sweeping the three doubles matches. Leading the way for the Eagles were defending National Doubles Champions Mary Ellen Gordon and Jolyn Taylor, who defeated Lindsay Hagerman and Ginny Wortham by a score of 8-1 at #1 doubles. Next off the court was #3 doubles, as Emory's Jamie Chan and Richelle Marasigan defeated Elizabeth Law and Lisa Mabry of the Generals, also by the score of 8-1. At #2 doubles spot, the Eagles' squad of Carina Alberelli and Margaret Moscato came from behind to earn an 8-6 win over W&L's Lora Farris and Kristen McClung.

Emory entered the singles match-ups needing just two more points to clinch a spot in tomorrow's championship match, and found those two wins at #5 and #6 singles. Moscato gave the Eagles a 4-0 lead by defeating W&L's Mabry (6-1, 6-0) at #5 singles, and Chan clinched the team victory for the Eagles with a win (6-0, 6-0) at #6 singles. Other matches in progress were pulled off the court due to time restrictions. Notably, at the #1 singles position, the Eagles' Gordon led W&L's Hagerman (7-5, 3-3); both players will be competing in the individual singles competition beginning Saturday.

The second match of the day was a grueling four hour battle that ended with the Amherst Jeffs defeating the Ephs of Williams by a score of 5-3. Amherst held a 2-1 lead heading into singles competition, after securing wins at the #1 and #2 doubles spots. The doubles would later prove to be key, as the teams were eventually nearly dead even in singles competition. During singles play, Williams tied the match at 2-2 with Katie Troy's win (6-0, 6-2) over Amherst's Hadley Miller at the #4 spot. Amherst then rallied to regain control of the match when Tristan Hendrick edged the Ephs' Stephanie Hall (6-0, 6-4) at #1 singles, giving the Jeffs a 3-2 lead. Kristen Raverta extended the lead to 4-2 with a win (7-5, 7-5) at #2 singles over Williams' Julie Mallory. Williams, however, fought back to 4-3 as Brittany Binet defeated Katie Hudson of Amherst (6-4, 6-4) at #6 singles. The clinching victory came at #3 singles when the Jeff's Rachel Holt outlasted Williams' Alexandra Maclennan (3-6, 6-2, 6-4).

Amherst and Emory are scheduled to face off on Friday 5/14 at Rhodes College (1:00pm) to decide the 2004 NCAA Women's Tennis Championship. The two teams met earlier this year (April 10) at Amherst College, where Emory earned an 8-1 victory.

Emory defeats Washington & Lee 5-0

Doubles

# 1 Gordon/Taylor (EU) def. Hagerman/Wortham (W&L)...... 8-1
# 2 Alberelli/Moscato (EU) def. Farris/McClung (W&L)...... 8-6
# 3 Chan/Marisigan (EU) def. Law/Mabry (W&L)...... 8-1

Singles

# 1 Gordon (EU) led Hagerman (W&L)...... 7-5, 3-3
# 2 Taylor (EU) led McClung (W&L)...... 6-2, 5-3
# 3 Law (W&L) led Alberelli (EU)...... 6-4, 4-3
# 4 Wortham (W&L) led Marasigan (EU)...... 1-6, 6-2, 2-1
# 5 Moscato (EU) def. Mabry (W&L)...... 6-1, 6-0
# 6 Chan (EU) def. Kingsbury (W&L)...... 6-0, 6-0

Amherst Defeats Williams 5-3

Doubles

# 1 Hedrick/Holt (AC) def. Hall/Troy (WC)...... 8-3
# 2 Molchen/Raverta (AC) def. Maclennan/Mallory (WC)...... 8-3
# 3 Binet/Wasserman (WC) def. Miller/Murphy (AC)...... 8-3

Singles

# 1 Hedrick (AC) def. Hall (WC)...... 6-0, 6-4
# 2 Raverta (AC) def. Mallory (WC)...... 7-5, 7-5
# 3 Holt (AC) def. Maclennan (WC)...... 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
# 4 Troy (WC) def. Miller (AC)...... 6-0, 6-2
# 5 Wasserman (WC) led Molchen (AC)...... 6-7(3), 6-4, 4-3
# 6 Binet (WC) def. Hudson (AC)...... 6-4, 6-4