Emory upended top-ranked Washington and Lee to claim its fourth straight NCAA Division III Women’s Tennis Championships team title May 19 in Santa Cruz, California.

The Eagles collected their fifth overall title in convincing fashion with a 5-1 victory over the previously undefeated Generals. The victory also marks the second time in school history that both the men’s and women’s tennis teams have earned championships in the same year. Emory’s men’s team downed Middlebury, 4-1, to win its second straight national championship. Both programs also claimed team titles in 2003.

En route to handing Washington and Lee its first loss on the season, Emory swept all three doubles points. The Eagles’ duo of Samantha Shapiro and Cristina Arellano ousted Washington and Lee’s Rebecca Timmis and Leah Weston, 8-2, at No. 3 doubles. The matches at the Nos. 1 and 2 positions were much tighter, with Emory’s Linda Tien and Richelle Marasigan holding off the Generals’ top team of Emily Applegate and Kristen McClung, 9-7, and Jamie Chan and Indu Anand edging Washington and Lee’s Katie Tabb and Ginny Wortham, 8-6.

Singles matches began after a lengthy rain delay. The Generals collected their only point of the championship at the No. 1 position when Applegate defeated McClung, 6-3, 6-0. However, straight-set victories by Emory’s Arellano and Tien sealed the title.

The Eagles finished the season 19-6, while Washington and Lee ended 28-1.

The duo of Tara Houlihan and Lyndsey Palen of Gustavus Adolphus became just the fifth team to repeat as champions when they successfully defended their doubles title on May 22.

Their win over DePauw’s Liz Bondi and Amrita Padda not only made Houlihan and Palen the third straight team to claim consecutive championships, but it also avenged a loss to Bondi and Padda earlier this season. It was the defending champions’ only loss on the season.

Houlihan and Palen began strong, taking a 5-3 lead in the first set before Bondi and Padda battled back to claim four straight games and the first set, 7-5. In the second frame, the Gustavus Adolphus tandem built on another early lead to win the set, 6-3, and even the score. The Gusties went on to secure the match and the championship with a 6-4 victory in the third set.

Palen, the first four-time ITA all-American women’s tennis player at Gustavus Adolphus, and Houlihan finished the season with a 26-1 doubles record. All-American and Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference player of the year Bondi, and teammate Padda, completed the 2006 doubles campaign with a 21-1 record.   

Washington and Lee’s Emily Applegate captured the singles title over fourth-seeded Kristen Raverta of Amherst, 6-3, 6-4. She is the second Washington and Lee women’s player to capture the singles championship. The Generals’ Lindsay Hagerman won in 2005.

The victory pushed Applegate’s season record to 33-3. The 33 wins marks the second-most singles victories logged in a season in school history. 

Team results

Quarterfinals

Wash. & Lee 5, Williams 0; Claremont-M-S 5, DePauw 4; Emory 5, Gust. Adolphus 1; Trinity (Tex.) 5, Amherst 2.

Semifinals

Wash. & Lee 5, Claremont-M-S 1; Emory 5, Trinity (Tex.) 1.

Third-place match

Claremont-M-S 5, Trinity (Tex.) 4

Doubles: No. 1 — Jeannine Liang-Yassie Entekhabi, Claremont-M-S, def. Laura Steinmetz-Hayley Dittus, Trinity (Tex.), 8-4; No. 2 — Alicia Hunt-Cayleigh Simpson, Trinity (Tex.), def. Jessica Nagasago-Allison Laygo, Claremont-M-S, 8-3; No. 3 — Kristen Handley-Lisa Steckmest, Claremont-M-S, def. Virginia Fraser-Leigh Pankonien, Trinity (Tex.), 8-4.

Singles: No. 1 — Jeannine Liang, Claremont-M-S, def. Laura Steinmetz, Trinity (Tex.), 6-0, 6-3; No. 2 — Alicia Hunt, Trinity (Tex.), def. Yassie Entekhabi, Claremont-M-S, 6-1, 7-6; No. 3 — Jessica Nagasago, Claremont-M-S, def. Hayley Dittus, Trinity (Tex.), 5-7, 6-4, 7-5; No. 4 — Allison Laygo, Claremont-M-S, vs Cayleigh Simpson, Trinity (Tex.), 7-5, 3-6, 6-6, unfinished; No. 5 — Stephanie Hammond, Claremont-M-S, def. Virginia Fraser, Trinity (Tex.), 6-0, 6-4; No. 6 — Leigh Pankonien, Trinity (Tex.), def. Kristen Handley, Claremont-M-S, 6-0, 6-3.

Championship match

Emory 5, Wash. & Lee 1

Doubles: No. 1 — Linda Tien-Richelle Marasigan, Emory, def. Emily Applegate-Kristen McClung, Wash. & Lee, 9-7; No. 2 — Jamie Chan-Indu Anand, Emory, def. Katie Tabb-Ginny Wortham, Wash. & Lee, 8-6; No. 3 — Samantha Shapiro-Cristina Arellano, Emory, def. Rebecca Timmis-Leah Weston, Wash. & Lee, 8-2.

Singles: No. 1 —  Emily Applegate, Wash. & Lee, def. Richelle Marasigan, Emory, 6-3, 6-0; No. 2 — Linda Tien, Emory, def. Katie Tabb, Wash. & Lee, 6-1, 6-3; No. 3 — Jamie Chan, Emory, vs. Ginny Wortham, Wash. & Lee, 4-2, unfinished; No. 4 — Indu Anand, Emory, vs. Kristen McClung, Wash. & Lee, 7-5, 1-1, unfinished; No. 5 — Samantha Shapiro, Emory, vs. Leah Weston, Wash. & Lee, 7-5, 3-1, unfinished; No. 6 — Cristina Arellano, Emory, def. Kelly Will, Wash. & Lee, 6-1, 6-2.

Individual results

Singles championship: Emily Applegate, Wash. & Lee, def. Kristen Raverta, Amherst, 6-3, 6-4.

Doubles championship: Tara Houlihan-Lyndsey Palen, Gust. Adolphus, def. Liz Bondi-Amrita Padda, DePauw, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.

For complete individual results, see The NCAA News online at www.ncaa.org.

Singles

First round: Liz Bondi, DePauw, def. Lily Dashiell, Colorado Col., 6-4, 6-2; Linda Tien, Emory, def. Debbie Sharnak, Vassar, 6-1, 6-2; Ashley Kriwinsky, Kenyon, def. Ginny Wortham, Wash. & Lee, 7-6(2), 6-2; Rebecca Lange, Pomona-Pitzer, def. Erin Fleming, Washington-St. Louis, 6-2, 6-2; Kristen Raverta, Amherst, def. Amanda Sta. Romana, Carthage, 6-0, 6-3; Tara Houlihan, Gust. Adolphus, def. Yassie Entekhabi, Claremont-M-S, 4-6, 7-5(5), 6-4; Beret Remak, Connecticut Col., def. Alicia Hunt, Trinity (Tex.), 6-1, 7-6(3); Jordan Hook Wheaton (Ill.), def. Laura Fanjoy, Sewanee, 6-2, 6-2; Jenna Mezin, Wellesley, def. Richelle Marasigan, Emory, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4; Gabriela Carvalho, Sewanee, def. Amy Roche, Middlebury, 6-0, 6-0; Amy Staloch, Carnegie Mellon, def. Elizabeth Maclellan, Wheaton (Ill.), 3-6, 6-2, 6-4; Emily Applegate, Wash. & Lee, def. Allison Dunn, Colby, 6-1, 6-1; Vindya Dayananda, Chicago, def. Sonya Reynolds, Swarthmore, 7-6(3), 6-2; Katie Tabb, Wash. & Lee, def. Jeannine Liang, Claremont-M-S, 7-5, 6-3; Amy Schmidt, Muhlendberg, def. Tatiana Steinberg, Redlands, 6-4, 6-4; Laura Steinmetz, Trinity (Tex.), def. Chelsea Rauck, William Smith, 7-5, 6-2.

Second round: Bondi, DePauw, def. Tien, Emory, 6-3, 6-3; Kriwinsky, Kenyon, def. Lange, Pomona-Pitzer, 6-2, 6-3; Raverta, Amherst, def. Houlihan, Gust. Adolphus, 2-6, 7-5, 4-3; Hook, Wheaton (Ill.), def. Remak, Connecticut Col., 6-2, 6-3; Carvalho, Sewanee, def. Mezin, Wellesley, 7-5, 6-0; Applegate, Wash. & Lee, def. Staloch, Carnegie Mellon, 6-2, 6-2; Tabb, Wash. & Lee, def. Dayananda, Chicago, 7-5, 6-2; Schmidt, Muhlenberg, def. Steinmetz, Trinity (Tex.) 7-5, 6-2.

Quarterfinals: Bondi, DePauw, def. Kriwinsky, Kenyon, 6-2, 6-2; Raverta, Amherst, def. Hook, Wheaton (Ill.), 6-2, 6-2; Applegate, Wash. & Lee, def. Carvelho, Sewanee, 1-6, 6-3, 6-1; Schmidt, Muhlenberg, def. Tabb, Wash. & Lee, 6-2, 7-5.

Semifinals: Raverta, Amherst, def. Bondi, DePauw, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3; Applegate, Wash. & Lee, def. Schmidt, Muhlenberg, 6-2, 6-3.

Championship: Applegate, Wash. & Lee, def. Raverta, Amherst, 6-3, 6-4.

Doubles

First round: Liz Bondi-Amrita Padda, DePauw, def. Haley Dittus-Laura Steinmetz, Trinity (Tex.), 6-3, 6-3; Jenna Mezin-Hali Walther, Wellesley, def. Amanda Sta. Romana-Elizca Buys, Carthage, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(7-3); Anne Schneidman-Cary Gibson, Williams, def. Yassie Entekhabi-Jeannine Liang, Claremont-M-S, 6-3, 6-2; Katie Tabb-Ginny Wortham, Wash. & Lee, def. Jennifer Kaswick-Rebecca Lange, Pomona-Pitzer, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1; Erin Andrade-Connie Shim, DePauw, def. Emily Applegate-Kristen McClung, Wash. & Lee, 6-4, 7-6(7-1); Mona Iyer-Amy Staloch, Carnegie Mellon, def. Kristen Raverta-Alicia Menezes, Amherst, 6-4, 6-7(2-7), 6-4; Tatiana Steinberg-Jenna Umeno, Redlands, def. Elizabeth Maclellan-Jordan Hook, Wheaton (Ill.), 7-5, 7-5; Tara Houlihan-Lyndsey Palen, Gust. Adolphus, def. Mary Katherine Stone-Gabriela Carvalho, Sewanee, 4-6, 7-6(7-5), 7-5.

Quarterfinals: Bondi-Padda, DePauw, def. Mezin-Walther, Wellesley, 6-0, 6-1; Tabb-Wortham, Wash. & Lee, def. Schneidman-Gibson, Williams, 6-4, 7-5; Iyer-Staloch, Carnegie Mellon, def. Andrarde-Shim, DePauw, 6-2, 7-5. Houlihan-Palen, Gust. Adolphus, def. Steinberg-Umeno, Redlands, 6-0, 6-1.

Semifinals: Bondi-Padda, DePauw, def. Tabb-Wortham, Wash. & Lee, 7-5, 6-2; Houlihan-Palen, Gust. Adolphus, def. Iyer-Staloch, Carnegie Mellon, 6-0, 6-1.

Championship: Houlihan-Palen, Gust. Adolphus, def. Bondi-Padda, DePauw, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4.