Peachtree City, GA - The Emory Oxford women's tennis claimed their seventh national title this weekend at the National Championship tournament. This is also the Eagles' sixth consecutive national championship.
Seven teams were competing in the tournament and the Eagles finished with 33 points, fourteen points better than the runner-up, Suffolk County. Illinois Valley came in third place with 17 points.
On the first day of the tournament, the Eagles secured the top seed in all flights and had a first-round bye. The following day, the Eagles won all of their matches in straight sets, advancing to the final round in all flights.
On the final day of action, the Eagles secured 5-of-6 singles matches. Freshman Irene Wang claimed first singles, beating Suffolk County's Lauren Schiraldi 6-2, 6-0. On court three, sophomore Lara Crosby defeated Illinois Valley's Olivia Woods 6-1, 6-0. Freshman Lily McCain claimed a victory on court four, beating Northhampton's Morgan Putvinski 6-0, 6-1. Sophomore Joanna Wu won on court five, defeating Camden County's Analise Ramos, 6-0, 6-0. Freshman Mayuri Charan defeated Claire Ferrari from Illinois Valley on court six, 6-1, 6-0.
In doubles play, the Eagles only secured one victory on court three with McCain and classmate Allie Lucky defeating Mohawk Valley's Julia Cucci and Elina Brutsky 6-1, 6-0.
"It feels great to have the chance to compete for a national title again this year after not having a season last year," commented Coach Pernilla Hardin, who was officially inducted into the NJCAA Hall of Fame Saturday night during a ceremony. "Our girls worked hard from the moment they stepped on campus in August and they got better every week. I am very proud of them for how well they competed this weekend."
This is the Eagles' sixth straight national title, dating back to 2015 when Coach Hardin won her first title with the women's tennis team. Coach Hardin was also named Coach of the Tournament for the third consecutive year.