After placing third in the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships and reaching the NCAA Elite Eight last spring, the Emory University men’s tennis team is heading into this spring looking to build on the 2025 momentum.
The Eagles had a solid fall season with a notable 56-16 singles record and 26-12 doubles record. Sophomore Ruilin Feng stood out in singles with a 10-0 record, while senior captain Dean Kamenev also made a mark with an 8-4 record. Feng took home the ITA Cup singles championship, while the doubles pair of Kartik and Johnstone took home the doubles title.
Additionally, the doubles pair of freshman Matthew Johnstone and sophomore Ajay Kartik had a perfect 9-0 record, while Kamenev and Kartik were also undefeated at 3-0.
As the spring season ramps up, head coach John Browning said the groundwork the team laid in the fall set the tone for the season ahead.
“You lay that foundation for team culture and team identity, and that’s the framework that you use,” Browning said. “If it’s done well, then it kind of springboards you into the spring.”
While the team has an established veteran presence, that culture is especially important for a roster that is onboarded in a large freshman class.
While they may lack experience, the freshmen Eagles played a key role in the team’s success in the fall. Johnstone emerged as a strong player, earning a 6-1 singles record and forming a dynamic doubles duo with Kartik. Freshman Daniel Kim also had an impressive 5-1 singles record, contributing key wins from the start.
“[The freshman] provide this energy that can just lift the program up,” Browning said. “When you combine their energy level with the veterans that we have, it was fairly seamless in terms of developing the right kind of culture and the right identity.”
In his second year as team captain, the veteran Kamenev has proven to be a leader for the underclassmen both on and off the court. On the court, Kamenev is an extremely skilled player, tying the program record for career singles wins with 53. Off the court, his consistent work ethic and unselfish approach have set an example for the younger players, according to Browning. He also noted that Kamenev’s development as both a player and a leader is evident in his commitment to putting the team first.
“I just saw him understand the importance of doing things the right way, but more importantly, being unselfish,” Browning said. “When you see a kid like that transform and understand and put the team ahead of any of his individual needs, that’s when you feel the most proud.”
Kamenev said that during the preseason, one of the team’s main priorities was assimilating new members to establish a cohesive environment. The captain said he embraced this responsibility.
“The biggest challenge was integrating the [seven] new freshmen,” Kamenev said. “Making sure the team culture was good and they understood our kind of way of going about things, and I think we definitely accomplished that in the preseason.”
As the team has also made building a good culture a point of emphasis this season, Browning said they were also working on solidifying their doubles pairings, where the crucial matches can serve as the tiebreaker in matches where teams split the singles games. Kartik said the team had some difficulties with doubles matches last year and has been looking to improve in this facet.
“When we played some of the better teams, if we had won the doubles point it would’ve been a lot easier to beat those teams,” Kartik said. “This year we’re spending a lot of time focusing on doubles. Our coach is putting a lot of time into watching our matches from last year and figuring out which doubles teams to put together.”
Looking ahead, the Eagles face a demanding spring schedule that will test the team’s progress as they face top NCAA Division III teams. After they begin the spring season on Feb. 7, the Eagles will take on nationally ranked competitors including Case Western Reserve University (Ohio), Denison University (Ohio) and Johns Hopkins University (Md.), all of which place in the NCAA Division III top-15. Kamenev said the chance to face highly-ranked teams is both exciting and offers the Eagles a shot at redemption.
“I’m excited to play any of the top-10 DIII schools because then you get to see how you compare to the competition,” Kamenev said. “Playing Case [Western] this year is gonna be exciting because we’ve lost to them the last three times when we really felt like we should have won and luck just didn’t go our way. So I’m really excited about them.”
