Box Score CHATTANOOGA, TN (05.29.21) - UT Dallas senior Kathy Joseph's run through the NCAA Division III Singles Championship came to an end Saturday afternoon with a loss in the national semifinals, the deepest run ever by a Comet tennis player.

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL | NATIONAL SINGLES BRACKET

Now a two-time All-American for the Comets, Joseph opened Saturday with a straight-set win over Sewanee's Emma Smith in the quarterfinals, setting up a semifinal match up with Emory's Christine Watson in the round of four. However, a fourth win in Tennessee was not in the cards as Joseph fell to Watson in straight sets.

Joseph and her partner junior Samantha Wong are still in the national doubles draw and will return to the court later Saturday for the quarterfinals.

In her quarterfinal match, the Williston, Vt., native sailed to a 6-1, 6-3, win over hometown favorite Smith for her third consecutive straight-set victory to open the national singles draw. Joseph connected on 34-of-44 of her first serves, without a double fault, and scored 58 of the 95 points in the match to move on to the semifinals.

After a short break, Joseph returned to the court to face Watson, who had knocked off the tournament's No. 2 in Friday's opening round and had also yet to drop a set through her first three contests. Watson took the opening stanza against Joseph, 6-1, before completing the win with a 6-2 victory in the second set. Joseph connected on 32-of-41 first serves in the loss, but managed just 33 of the 91 points. 

Joseph's singles run started with an opening-round contest with Kimmy Steinert of Wisconsin-LaCrosse on Friday in the Round of 32. Joseph landed 42-of-49 first serves en route to a quick 6-2, 6-0, win over Steinert and become the first-ever Comet to win a match in the national individual draw. Joseph jumped out to an impressive 3-0 lead over Steiner in the opening set before giving back to games. She then rolled to three quick games to earn a 6-2 win in the opening stanza before winning 25-of-36 points in the shutout of Steiner in the second set.

She then upended No. 4-seeded Venia Yeung of Wesleyan, 6-2, 6-2, in the Round of 16 to advance to Saturday. Joseph again had a dominant first serve, connecting on 41-of-49, without a double fault for the second straight match. Joseph jumped to 4-0 lead on Yeung in the opening set before giving back two games and settling for a 6-2 victory. She then had battle from behind in the second set, trailing Yeung 2-1 early and avoiding a two-game deficit with a rally to knot the set, 2-2. Joseph used the momentum to win the next four games and complete the sweep.

Joseph collected All-America honors for the second time over her career with the Comets, this time by virtue of advancing out of the opening round of the NCAA D-III singles draw. She had previously collected All-America distinction as a freshman during the 2016-17 campaign via claiming the regional doubles title at the ITA Fall Championships.