Emory women’s tennis team junior Beatrice Rosen, sophomore Katarina Su and freshman Anna Fuhr competed in the USTA/ITA National Small College Championships, held in Sumter, S.C. last week. Rosen finished third in the singles draw and the pair of Su and Fuhr finished sixth in the doubles draw, both out of eight competitors.
Rosen battled from behind on Thursday, to defeat sophomore Rebecca Ho of Washington University (Mo.), 2-6, 7-6, 6-1. The same day, Su and Fuhr defeated the pair of Bowdoin College (Maine) senior Emma Chow and freshman Tess Trinka in the first set, 6-2, but fell in the next two, 6-4 and 10-7. Su and Fuhr continued on to out-play University of Wisconsin-Whitewater freshmen Bridgid McGuire and Alicia Beck, 6-1 and 6-3, advancing them to the fifth-place match against freshman Marie Lutz and sophomore Liza Southwick of Trinity University (Texas).
On Friday, Rosen fell to sophomore Ashnaa Rao of Johns Hopkins University (Md.), 6-4, 6-2, in the semifinals draw. The two had matched-up previously at the NCAA Division III National Championships, but their contest came to an early end when Emory scored enough points to clinch the tournament. Rao had won the first set and Rosen was ahead in the second.
“I was having an off day and I couldn’t adjust my game well enough to attack her weaknesses,” Rosen said in reference to Friday’s match.
Meanwhile, Su and Fuhr were knocked down to sixth-place overall in the third set of their match against Lutz and Southwick, with a score of 11-9. Rosen advanced to the third-place match against freshman Kate Christensen of Vassar College (N.Y.).
Rosen, Su and Fuhr had qualified for the Small College Nationals by finishing first at the USTA/ITA South Regional Championships held Sept. 19-21. The Regionals, held at Emory, were composed mainly of Eagles taking on Eagles, Su said.
The fall season differs from the spring season in that it is largely individual. In the spring, the Eagles will team-up to take on other teams and to compete for the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship and the NCAA Nationals.
“It’s hard to use the fall as a predictor of the spring,” Rosen said. “It gives our coach [Amy Bryant] a good idea of who is playing well and who plays well together.”
The new pairing this year of Su and Fuhr is one that will likely continue from this point, Su said.
This year’s Eagles also have big shoes to fill, as the team won the NCAA Nationals last year. Nonetheless, Su is confident that she and her teammates will please yet again.
“I think we have strong incoming freshmen and returning players and we get along really well,” Su said. “Our team has a lot of potential and could go just as far as last year.
Rosen acknowledged that the team has work to do in the offseason, but she is optimistic.
“I think our team has just as much potential [as last year,]” she said. “It takes a whole year to develop that whole dynamic, but I always think we can,” she said.
Saturday, the fourth seeded Rosen dominated Christensen in two sets, with scores of 6-2 and 6-3, improving her record to 8-2 in singles play this season.
The Eagles return to action today, Oct. 17-19, at Georgia Gwinnett College’s Grizzly Open.
— By Zak Hudak, Sports Editor
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