Garret Duron Interview

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – A mixture of returning players combined with an influx of new freshmen has the Carson-Newman men's tennis team prepped and ready for the 2015 season.  

The Eagles were picked to tie for 10^th in the South Atlantic Conferece with Lenior-Rhyne. Tusculum edged out reigning regualar season and SAC Tournament chapion Wingate as the favorite to win the SAC by four points.

The Eagles' roster contains six freshmen and only three upperclassmen. Six players return from last season's team that finished 5-18 and 3-7 in the SAC, which placed them in a three-way tie for eighth in the conference with Mars Hill and Lenior-Rhyne. Two All-SAC Honorable Mentions return from 2014.

"Last season was definitely a disappointing season. We have a lot of good returning players and we brought in some strong recruits," senior Garret Duron (Woodstock, Ga.) said of the potential for the 2015 squad. "I think this year, we are going to make a really strong push and our goal is to make the conference tournament."

Duron couples with Austin Mackay (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) as the two Carson-Newman seniors. Duron went 5-0 in singles play last year as the team's number six, while Mackay finished 2014 8-12 with seven wins as the number five.

The team's lone junior is Juan Sebastian Perez (Ecuador) who spent time last season as the C-N number one and two in individual play with six wins. He teamed with sophomore Joao Pedro Oliveria (Brazil) as the team's most formidable doubles team by picking up four wins as the number one doubles team.  He has been named a 2013 and 2014 All-SAC Honorable Mentions.

Oliveria joins Stefano Daza (Venezuela) and Lee Presson (Crossvile, Tenn.) as the team's three sophomores. Oliveria played as the team's number, two and three during singles play in 2014. He was a 2014 All-SAC Honorable Mention for his play in 2014. Daza spent time as the number two and three and had seven wins in individual play. Daza played with Mackay as the number two doubles team and they went 4-4; they were the only doubles combination to play at a .500 peak in 2014. Presson spent most of 2014 as a doubles player. He went 2-5 in SAC play.

The Eagles welcome six freshmen to the roster for 2015. Taylor Barie (Woodstock, Ga.), Jonathan Booker (Hadden Heights, NJ), Flavio Garbati (Madrid, Spain), Jordan Knott (Louisville, Ky.), Kevin Mendes (Woodstock, Ga.) and Bret Rogers (Roswell, Ga.) will be making their debuts in the Orange and Blue this Spring.  

"The whole atmosphere and culture around the tennis team has been a lot different because we have had so many good player and a deep roster that there has been so much competition for every spot," Duron said of the influx of freshmen this season. "The guys that have come are all really mature tennis players and any of them could be starters, so we have the advantage of having a deep squad this year."

With the additions of the six freshmen, no one spots has been secured in the lineup, according to Duron.

"Right now, it's all up in the air. There's a lot of competition going on, but hopefully, we will have that figured out in the next several weeks," Duron said.

The Eagles kick off their season on February 7^th at home against Young Harris at 1 p.m.

-CN-