LEWISTON – Mark Boren could feel it.

To his right, Emory’s No. 1 doubles tandem won more quickly than expected. To his left, his Emory teammates took the No. 3 doubles point with relative ease.

But Boren and partner Hardy Ehlers still trailed Middlebury’s team of Chris Mason and Andrew Lee by three games.

“We had struggled in our last two matches,” Boren said. “We decided to change our routine a little bit. I felt we were able to handle that pressure, and play better tennis.”

Trailing at one time 5-2 at second doubles, Boren and Ehlers forced a tiebreaker and pulled out a 9-8 victory, giving Emory a lead it would never relinquish as the Eagles advanced to the NCAA Division III championship match with a 5-1 match victory over Middlebury.

“When we watched them (Tuesday), we were a little worried,” Emory coach John Browning said. “Two doubles really set the tone.”

The Panthers were the last remaining NESCAC school in the tournament, which started with 41 teams, and they won the NCAA title the last time the tournament was at Bates College, in 2004.

“If we win a doubles match, it turns the whole match into a war,” Middlebury coach Dave Schwarz said. “It doesn’t mean we win it, but it makes it a lot more interesting.”

In the afternoon semifinal, Washington University of St. Louis also bolted out to a 3-0 lead after doubles competition. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps of California made a run at it in the singles competition, but Washington was too strong and advanced with its own 5-1 win.

“Momentum just kind of snowballs,” Washington coach Roger Follmer said.

The final match, rescheduled to 12:30 p.m. Thursday, is a rubber match between two of the country’s top programs. Washington hosted the event last year, and advanced to the final eight with a young squad.

“Even though we’d never been to the semifinals, now we’ve never been to the finals, it doesn’t matter,” Follmer said. “Because being here, like we were last year, it helps. Now, it’s a matter of who plays better (Thursday).”

Emory is a Division III mainstay, having been to the finals four times in the last six years, winning twice. The teams split two earlier meetings this season.

A consolation match will start at 9 a.m. between Middlebury and Claremont.