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2005
Emory University became the first
NCAA Division III school ever to win three consecutive national
women's team championships. The feat has been accomplished
once in Division I and three times in Division II.
This was Emory's fourth national championship overall, tying
a Division III record. (Emory won its first national title
in 1996.) The Eagles also tied the record for most wins all-time
(30) in the NCAA Division III team championship.
Coach Amy Smith has had a hand in all four national titles.
She coached the last three championships and played No. 1
singles for the 1996 national champions. Smith holds the distinction
of being the first female, in any NCAA division, to win the
national team title as a player and coach.
Emory replaced three of its six singles players from the team
that won the national title in 2004. All three replacements
this season were freshmen.
Emory won the championship with a 5-3 victory against Washington
& Lee University (Va.). This is the third time Emory has
beaten Washington & Lee in the NCAA finals. The other
two were 1996 and 2003. The last time the national finals
were held in Kalamazoo, site of this year's tournament, was
1996 when Emory beat W&L for the title.
This was Emory's 21st consecutive appearance in the NCAA team
championship, longest in Division III women's tennis, and
the fifth longest for any NCAA women's tennis program.
Emory finishes with a 20-3 record, its third consecutive 20-win
season, fifth in school history. The others were 1996 and
1997.
Emory was 13-1 this season against national top-20 teams in
Division III. Its only loss was 5-4 to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
(Calif.), the No. 11 team in the nation March 27. That came
at the end of a stretch of five matches in four days against
national top-20 teams, one in which Emory rested one of its
regular singles players and had three players slotted higher
than usual in the singles lineup.
Emory graduates two seniors, Carina Alberelli and Lindsay
Tiemeyer. Alberelli was a four-time All-American, twice in
singles and twice in doubles. Tiemeyer was 7-1 at No. 3 doubles
with Indu Anand this season, including a perfect 3-0 at the
NCAA finals.
Emory won the conference team title for the 18th consecutive
year. The Eagles have won every UAA championship since it
first conducted tennis championships in 1988. That is the
longest title streak in conference history in any sport.
Alberelli was chosen the conference's Most Valuable Player,
the fifth consecutive year the honor has gone to an Emory
player. The Eagles were honored on the all-conference first
team at five of the six singles positions and all three doubles
positions.
Following are some individual honors
from this season:
| All-America (NCAA Division III) |
| Singles |
Carina Alberelli |
Miami, FL (Westminster Christian) |
|
| Doubles |
Carina Alberelli |
Miami, FL (Westminster Christian) |
|
| Singles |
Serena Burkard |
Indianapolis, IN (North Central) |
|
| Doubles |
Jamie Chan |
Lakeland, FL (Lakeland Christian) |
|
| Doubles |
Linda Tien |
Tampa, FL (King) |
|
| |
| Regional Awards (Intercollegiate Tennis
Association) |
| Arthur Ashe |
Carina Alberelli |
Miami, FL (Westminster Christian) |
|
| |
| All-Conference (University Athletic Association) |
| Most Valuable Player |
Carina Alberelli |
Miami, FL (Westminster Christian) |
|
| First Team |
Carina Alberelli |
Miami, FL (Westminster Christian) |
No. 1 Singles |
| First Team |
Serena Burkard |
Indianapolis, IN (North Central) |
No. 3 Singles |
| First Team |
Jamie Chan |
Lakeland, FL (Lakeland Christian) |
No. 4 Singles |
| First Team |
Linda Tien |
Tampa, FL (King) |
No. 5 Singles |
| First Team |
Indu Anand |
Burr Ridge, IL (Hinsdale Central) |
No. 6 Singles |
| First Team |
Carina Alberelli |
Miami, FL (Westminster Christian) |
No. 1 Doubles |
| First Team |
Jamie Chan |
Lakeland, FL (Lakeland Christian) |
No. 1 Doubles |
| First Team |
Serena Burkard |
Indianapolis, IN (North Central) |
No. 2 Doubles |
| First Team |
Alexandra Gross |
Cincinnati, OH (Cincinnati Country Day) |
No. 2 Doubles |
| First Team |
Indu Anand |
Burr Ridge, IL (Hinsdale Central) |
No. 3 Doubles |
| First Team |
Lindsay Tiemeyer |
Alexandria, VA (Cranbrook Kingswood) |
No. 3 Doubles |
Carina Alberelli
Alberelli became the third Eagle ever to earn All-America
honors in both singles and doubles in back-to-back years.
She finished 14th in the final national singles rankings compiled
by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association and fifth in national
doubles rankings along with teammate Jamie Chan. Alberelli
advanced to the round of 16 in both the NCAA Division III
national singles and doubles championships. She was awarded
the No. 6 seed for the NCAA singles championship based on
her play in the regular season. The senior finished with a
16-12 record in singles and was 17-6 in doubles with Chan.
Alberelli is one of two players to have played in every finals
for Emory's current streak of three consecutive national team
championships. She played No. 5 singles for the 2003 national
champs, No. 3 in 2004 and No. 1 this season. Alberelli clinched
the deciding team point in its NCAA quarterfinal win this
season against Redlands (Calif.). She had seven wins this
season in singles against opponents from teams ranked in the
top 20 nationally. Alberelli was chosen the regional winner
of the ITA's Arthur Ashe Jr. Award for sportsmanship and leadership.
The ITA ranked her fourth in the region among singles players
and first (with Chan) among doubles pairings. She was voted
the conference Most Valuable Performer. She finished her career
as a four-time all-conference honoree in singles and three
times in doubles. Alberelli graduated in eighth place on the
school's all-time list for career singles wins (72), ninth
in career singles win percentage (.758), fifth in career doubles
wins (77), and fifth in career doubles win percentage (.794).
Indu Anand
Anand, a freshman, compiled a 20-2 record in singles. Her
.909 singles win percentage this season is the third best
in school history (the top two belong to a two-time national
singles champion). Anand was a perfect 11-0 in singles against
opponents from teams ranked in the top 20 nationally. Her
only singles losses were to an Emory teammate in the quarterfinals
of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association regional championships
last fall and in three sets to an opponent from Wofford (S.C.),
an NCAA Division I scholarship school, this spring. Anand
was a perfect 6-0 in singles and doubles combined in the last
three matches of the NCAA team championship. She clinched
the winning team point for Emory in its NCAA semifinal match
against Amherst (Mass.). She teamed up with Lindsay Tiemeyer
for an 8-1 record in doubles. The pairing was 12th in the
final regional doubles rankings compiled by the ITA. Anand
was named to the all-conference first team at No. 6 singles
and No. 3 doubles.
Serena Burkard
Burkard became the third Emory freshman ever to receive All-America
honors as a singles player. She earned the honor by winning
the singles title at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association
regional championship last fall. Burkard then placed fourth
at the ITA national championship. She was was 36th in the
final national rankings compiled by the ITA and 12th in the
regional singles rankings. Burkard amassed a season won-loss
record of 20-10 in singles and 25-5 in doubles. She had nine
singles wins against opponents from schools ranked in the
top 20 nationally. Her 25 doubles wins was the 11th-highest
total in school history and her .833 doubles win percentage
was the 12th best ever at Emory. She and doubles partner Alexandra
Gross were seventh in the final ITA regional doubles rankings.
Burkard was named to the all-conference first team at No.
3 singles and No. 2 doubles.
Jamie Chan
Chan, a junior, became an All-American for the first time
in her career. She earned the honor in doubles where she and
teammate Carina Alberelli finished fifth in the national doubles
rankings compiled by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
The duo were among 16 entrants selected for the NCAA national
doubles championship. Chan amassed a 17-6 record in doubles
with Alberelli, and a 26-9 doubles record overall. Her 26
doubles wins are the seventh most in school history in one
season. Last fall, Chan and Linda Tien teamed to win the ITA
regional doubles championship and then finished sixth at the
ITA national championships. Chan was 16th in the final ITA
regional singles rankings and first (with Alberelli) in the
regional doubles rankings. She had a 19-4 record in singles,
winning her last 10 singles matches of the season. Chan recorded
nine singles wins against opponents from teams ranked in the
top 20 nationally. In the NCAA team championship, Chan had
a perfect 8-0 record in singles and doubles combined. She
clinched the decisive team point in its NCAA "Sweet 16"
win against Rhodes (Tenn.). Chan is one of two players to
have played in every finals for Emory's current streak of
three consecutive national team championships. She was named
to the all-conference team in singles and doubles for the
third time in as many years. Entering her senior season, Chan
will be in 12th place on the school's all-time list for career
singles wins (61), fourth in career singles win percentage
(.847), 10th in career doubles wins (64), and eighth in career
doubles win percentage (.762).
Alexandra Gross
Gross, a freshman, competed regularly in the No. 2 doubles
spot along with teammate Serena Burkard, and occasionally
at the No. 6 singles spot. She and Burkard were seventh in
the final regional doubles rankings compiled by the Intercollegiate
Tennis Association. Gross had a 23-5 doubles record, good
for an .821 win percentage, 13th best in school history. She
had an 8-2 record in singles overall, 4-0 in dual matches.
In those four dual matches, Gross did not drop a set and lost
only one game combined. Her only two singles losses were to
Emory teammates in separate tournaments last fall.
Richelle Marasigan
Marasigan, the team's No. 2 singles player, clinched the national
championship point for Emory in the NCAA finals against Washington
& Lee (Va.). She was 31st in the final national singles
rankings compiled by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association
and ninth in the regional singles rankings. Marasigan amassed
a 21-9 record in singles giving her a two-year total of 38-15.
She had nine singles wins against opponents from schools ranked
in the top 20 nationally.
Linda Tien
Tien became the fifth Emory freshman ever to earn All-America
honors. She did so as a doubles player by pairing with Jamie
Chan to win the doubles title at the Intercollegiate Tennis
Association regional championships last fall. The duo placed
sixth at the ITA national championships. That capped a fall
in which Tien had a 7-3 doubles record. As a singles player,
she had a 20-5 record, primarily at No. 5 singles. Tien had
nine singles wins against opponents from schools ranked in
the top 20 nationally. She was voted to the all-conference
first team at No. 5 singles.
Lindsay Tiemeyer
The senior competed in the NCAA championships for the first
time in her career. She and doubles partner Indu Anand won
their match in the NCAA quarterfinals, semifinals and finals.
Together they had an 8-1 doubles record with their only loss
by a 9-8 (6) score in the NCAA quarterfinals. Seven of their
wins were against opponents from schools ranked in the top
20 nationally. They were 12th in the final regional doubles
rankings compiled by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
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