ATLANTA, Ga. - The regionally 11th ranked and 4th seeded NC Wesleyan College women's tennis team fell 5-0 to top-ranked Emory University in second round action on Saturday at the NCAA Division III National Tournament in Atlanta.
This was the Lady Bishops' second straight trip to the national tournament as they finished 16-5 overall in 2019.
The women battled hard in doubles with the #2 team of sophomore Julianna Johnson and senior Stephany Barbera dropping their match 8-5. Unfortunately, the pairs of freshmen Fariza Abdulloeva and Milena Amedieva and sophomore Giulia Zanetti and junior Nicole Halabi combined to win just one game in their matches as Emory took a quick 3-0 lead.
Emory (18-3) then closed out the match with wins at the #3 and #5 spots defeating Zanetti 6-1, 6-0 and Halabi 6-0, 6-0.
Abdulloeva was trailing 3-6, 2-2 in her match with the top ranked woman in Division 3, Ysabel Gonzalez-Rico, at #1 singles in a rematch of their Fall ITA Regional Final in September of this year which went to 3 sets. Emory now advances to face Washington & Lee (Va.) Sunday at Noon in the Regional Final.
The women walk away this season with a conference tournament MVP in Amedieva, a Rookie of the Year in Abdulloeva, a Conference Coach of the Year in Albie Brice and numerous all-conference and all-tournament players.