SWEET BRIAR, Virginia -- Though the venue changed, little else about the 2002 Division III Women's Tennis Championships was different from last year.

Hosted by Sweet Briar, the May 17-22 tournament saw repeat winners in each of the three championship events. Williams notched its second straight title, as did Methodist's Elena Blanina in the singles final and Emory's Mary Ellen Gordon and Anusha Natarajan in the doubles championship.

In the team competition, Williams once again proved that purple cows (as they call themselves) could play a mean game of tennis. The unstoppable Lady Ephs downed Emory, 5-4, for the championship. The win helped Williams secure its place in history as the only Division III women's tennis team to win consecutive titles.

"No one had ever done it before, so it must be very, very tough," Williams Coach Julie Greenwood said. "We knew it would be hard."

After winning a close match (5-4) against Trinity (Texas) the day before, the tournament's top seed had to regroup against a talented Emory squad.

Williams set the tone for the match by winning two of the three doubles points at the Nos. 1 and 3 slots. In singles play, the Ephs posted wins on the strong play of Julie Mallory at No. 2, Stephanie Hall at No. 4 and Jasmine Bradley at No. 6.

To get to the final, Emory downed Washington & Lee, 5-4. The Generals went on to win the third-place match against Trinity.

In the individual championships, Blanina made easy work of the tournament field to set up a showdown with Trinity's Lizzie Yasser. The two fought point for point with Blanina notching the 7-5, 7-6(2) win. "Winning the second championship was much harder than the first," Blanina said. "Everyone knows my game now."

As Gordon and Natarajan proved, it doesn't matter if they know your game, only if they can beat it. The Emory pair defended their doubles title with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Washington (Missouri)'s Rathi Mani and Kat Copiozo, who were aiming to give their school its first women's tennis title.

TEAM RESULTS

Semifinals

Williams 5, Trinity (Tex.) 4; Emory 5, Wash. & Lee 4.

Third place

Wash. & Lee 5, Trinity (Tex.) 4

Doubles: No. 1 -- Lizzie Yasser-Abbe Ulrich, Trinity (Tex.), def. Melissa Hatley-Erika Proko, Wash. & Lee, 8-4; No. 2 -- Lindsay Hagerman-Manning Willard, Wash. & Lee, def. Christi Austin-Heather McGowan, Trinity (Tex.), 8-6; No. 3 -- Lindsay Smith-Megan Suarez, Trinity (Tex.), def. Laura Bruno-Sallie Gray Strang, Wash. & Lee, 8-5.

Singles: No. 1 -- Yasser, Trinity (Tex.), def. Proko, Wash. & Lee 6-3, 7-6 (5); No. 2 -- Smith, Trinity (Tex.), def. Hagerman, Wash. & Lee, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3; No. 3 -- Hatley, Wash. & Lee, def. Megan Suarez, Trinity (Tex.), 6-1, 6-2; No. 4 -- Elizabeth Law, Wash. & Lee, def. Ulrich, Trinity (Tex.), 6-3, 6-1; No. 5 -- Bruno, Wash. & Lee, def. Austin, Trinity (Tex.), 6-3, 6-2; No. 6 -- Willard, Wash. & Lee def. McGowan, Trinity (Tex.) 6-1, 6-2.

Williams 6, Emory 3

Doubles: No. 1 -- Selma Kikic-Stephanie Hall, Williams, def. Mary Ellen Gordon-Anusha Natarajan, Emory, 9-8 (5); No. 2 -- Margaret Moscato-Emily Warburg, Emory, def. Tracy Cheung-Kate Troy, Williams, 8-2; No. 3 -- Julie Mallory-Jasmine Bradley, Williams, def. Julia Jacobs-Shannon Lovett, Emory, 8-6.

Singles: No. 1 -- Gordon, Emory, def. Kikic, Williams, 6-2, 6-2; No. 2 -- Mallory, Williams, def. Moscato, Emory, 6-3, 0-6, 7-6(4); No. 3 -- Troy, Williams, def. Jacobs, Emory, 6-2, 6-7 (8),6-3; No. 4 -- Hall, Williams, def. Lovett, Emory, 6-2, 6-1; No. 5 -- Carina Alberilli, Emory, def. Cheung, Williams, 6-3, 6-3; No. 6 -- Bradley, Williams, def. Lindsay Tiemeyer, Emory, 7-6(5), 6-2.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

Singles

First round: Elena Blanina, Methodist, def. Alison Hover, Wis.-Eau Claire, 6-1, 6-1; Julie Mallory, Williams, def. Stephanie Gong, Rhodes, 6-3, 6-2; Paulette Hricko, Bowdoin, def. Kathy North, Sewanee, 7-6(5), 6-7(8), 6-4; Joanna Toke, Rochester, def. Meaghan Clark, Kalamazoo, 6-4, 6-3; Sheree Schwartz, Pomona-Pitzer, def. Jenny Stein, Washington (Mo.), 6-4, 6-4; Margaret Moscato, Emory, def. Beth Ann DiNapoli, Claremont-M-S, 6-1, 6-4; Rachel Holt, Amherst, def. Lindsay Smith, Trinity (Tex.), 4-6, 6-4, 6-3; Erika Proko, Wash. & Lee, def. Laura Bedhun, Gust. Adolphus, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1; Mary Ellen Gordon, Emory, def. Katie Frick, UC Santa Cruz, 6-1, 6-0; Lauren Gerlach, Denison def. Lindsay Hagerman, Wash. & Lee, 6-1, 6-2; Julia Lebedeva, Beloit, def. Sandy Spring, Middlebury, 6-3, 6-1; Selma Kikic, Williams, def. Brooke Roeper, Kenyon, 6-1, 6-1; Rebecca Dutton, Claremont-M-S, def. Stephanie Fong, Amherst, 7-6(4), 6-7(6), 6-4; Jackie North, Sewanee, def. Alexis Bawdin, Bowdoin, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3; Kathryn Baker, Rhodes, def. Emily Figel, Wittenburg, 6-4, 6-2; Lizzie Yasser, Trinity (Tex.), def. Diana Goldman, Trinity (Conn.), 6-1, 6-2.

Second round: Blanina, Methodist, def. Mallory, Williams, 6-1, 6-3; Toke, Rochester, def. Hricko, Bowdoin, 6-2, 6-0; Moscato, Emory, def. Schwartz, Pomona-Pitzer, 6-4, 7-6(7), 6-3; Proko, Wash. & Lee, def. Holt, Amherst, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4; Gordon, Emory, def. Gerlach, Denison, 6-0, 6-2; Kikic, Williams, def. Lebedeva, Beloit, 6-2, 6-1; Dutton, Claremont-M-S, def. North, Sewanee, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3; Yasser, Trinity (Tex.), def. Baker, Rhodes, 6-2, 6-1.

Quarterfinals: Blanina, Methodist, def. Toke, Rochester, 6-0, 6-1; Proko, Wash. & Lee, def. Moscato, Emory, 6-3, 6-1; Gordon, Emory, def. Kikic, Williams, 6-0, 6-1; Yasser, Trinity (Tex.), def. Dutton, Claremont-M-S, 6-1, 6-1.

Semifinals: Blanina, Methodist, def. Proko, Wash. & Lee, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2; Yasser, Trinity (Tex.), Gordon, Emory, 6-4, 6-2.

Championship: Blanina, Methodist, def. Yasser, Trinity (Tex.), 7-5, 7-6(2)

Doubles

First round: Elena Blanina-Carla Simpson, Methodist, def. Lauren Gerlach-Allison Hughes, Denison, 6-3, 6-2; Ne'ko Browder-Shoko Nakamura, Washington (Md.), def. Stephanie Fong-Heather Cole, Amherst, 7-6(5), 6-4; Rathi Mani-Kat Copozio, Washington (Mo.), 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-2; Sheree Schwartz-Whitney Henderson, Pomona-Pitzer, def. Laura Hoffmeister-Hennessy Howell, Rhodes, 6-2, 6-3; Mary Ellen Gordon-Anusha Natarajan, Emory, def. Ellen Anderson-Kristin Donley, Gust. Adolphus, 7-5, 6-1; Melissa Hatley-Erika Proko, Wash. & Lee, def. Joanna Toke-Rachel Sandler, Rochester, 6-3, 7-6(4); Lizzie Yasser-Abbe Ulrich, Trinity (Tex.), def. Julie Koo-Larisa Egloff, MIT, 6-3, 6-3; Selma Kikic-Stephanie Hall, Williams, def. Tantjana Kopylova-Julie Lebedeva, Beloit, 6-3, 6-0.

Quarterfinals: Blanina-Simpson, Methodist, def. Browder-Nakamura, Washington (Md.), 6-1, 6-3; Mani-Copozio, Washington (Mo.), def. Schwartz-Henderson, Pomona-Pitzer, 6-2, 7-6(2), 6-3; Gordon-Natarajan, Emory, def. Hatley-Proko, Wash. & Lee, 7-5, 6-4; Kikic-Hall, Williams, def. Yasser-Ulrich, Trinity (Tex.), 7-5, 6-3.

Semifinals: Mani-Copozio, Washington (Mo.), def. Blanina-Simpson, Methodist, 6-3, 0-6, 7-5; Gordon-Natarajan, Emory, def. Kikic-Hall, Williams, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.

Championship: Gordon-Natarajan, Emory, def. Mani-Copozio, Washington (Mo.), 6-1, 6-2.