Seventh-ranked Middlebury grabbed a 2-1 lead after doubles play and split the six singles matches for an exciting 5-4 home victory over #1 Emory in women's tennis action on the Proctor Tennis Courts. The Panthers (7-3), who give the Eagles (18-4) their first loss of the spring against a Division III team, return to the court Saturday when they host #6 Bowdoin in a NESCAC match at 11:30 a.m.

Middlebury tallied two narrow victories in Friday's doubles matches. Middlebury's Ria Gerger and Lily Bondy were the first off the court at #1 with an 8-6 win over Anna Fuhr and Daniela Lopez. Emory tied the match at 1-1 when Bridget Harding and Katarina Su posted a 9-7 victory in the #2 spot over Kaysee Orozco and Sadie Shackelford. Middlebury's Christina Puccinelli and Alexandra Fields needed a tiebreaker to get past the Emory tandem of Michelle Satterfield and Paula Castro, 9-8 (4).

In singles action, the teams traded the first two flights to be completed. Emory's Madison Gordon tied the match with a 6-2, 6-0 win against Orozco at #6, while Molly Paradies gave the hosts a 3-2 advantage with a 6-3, 6-0 straight-set victory over Su in the fifth spot.

The Eagles took the lead at 4-3 with a 6-1, 6-2 win from Satterfield over Fields at #2, and a three-set victory by Cosme (4-6, 6-4, 6-3) against Bondy in the third flight.

Trailing by one with two matches remaining on the court, Middlebury clinched the team win with three-set triumphs from Gerger (3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (5)) over Harding at #1, and Puccinelli, who earned a hard-fought 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2 victory against Beatrice Rosen in the fourth spot of the lineup.