ATLANTA, Ga. --- No. 33 Averett University men's tennis had its season come to a close on Saturday morning, dropping a 4-0 decider to No. 6 Emory University in the NCAA Second Round at the Woodruff PE Center Tennis Courts.
Moving indoors due to inclement weather conditions, Emory took to action in doubles by taking two out of three doubles matches to earn the first point, but not without resistance from Averett. Jaeden Mukkaladyil and Prabjeet Chandhok fought tooth and nail with No. 7 nationally ranked Christian Liew and Ruilin Feng, but fell 6-3. Efe Comu and Ajay Kartik bested Rafael Jodas and Sam Egui by the same score.
Hopes remained high going into singles, but the Cougars had to battle from a point down to take four of the six singles matches on deck.
The Eagles took matches at No. 3 and No. 2 in swift fashion to start singles play. Satwik Kollepalli battled the No. 40 singles player in the country, Dean Kamenev, but fell 6-3, 6-3 to seal Emory's fourth point, and the match.
For Averett, it ends an unforgettable season that goes down as one of the best in program history.
The Cougars' 17 wins marks the most in Bert Poole's tenure as head coach, and the most since the turn of the millennium.
Poole knew his team would be fighting an uphill battle versus one of Division III's best teams.
"We played one of the best teams in the country, and I feel really good about the way we competed," Poole said.
2024-25 will live forever in Poole's mind, regardless of the way it concluded.
"It's been a special season, and so rare to have a kind of team that cares about each other and is willing to work, devoid of ego. All of the things that you want a team to develop over time, they did it," Poole reflected. "The guys did everything the right way, and it was a joy to have been around them every day, for this long. I couldn't have asked for more. It was a dream season and I think they feel the same way."
Averett concludes the 2024-25 season at 17-5, and 8-1 in conference play. The Cougars acheived their highest ranking since 2000, at No. 33, and won the 2025 ODAC championship.