VIDEO: Jean Love Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – With nearly a week of recuperation on its side following a week that saw the team take part in four matches, two of those in back-to-back days, the Carson-Newman men's tennis team looks to stay on the winning track as it prepares to host the Knights of Bellarmine Saturday morning at the Buddy Catlett Tennis Complex.
"These guys have a lot of heart and they put the work in and the effort is there," head coach Jean Love said. "We just, at times, need to clean some things up, at times we need to play the bigger points better, but in terms of the effort, the tenacity, the want to, that's not questioned."
Carson-Newman (1-4) was victorious for the first time in 2018 as the Eagles took a 6-3 win over Martin Methodist last Saturday in a neutral site face-off. The Eagles held an advantage in the match for the first time this season as the No. 2 duo of Marc Bantel (Urbach, Germany) and Taylor Barie (Woodstock, Ga.) and the No. 3 pair of Rodolfo Schwarz (Brazil) and Joseph Stiles (New Oxford, Pa.) both picked up wins to start the day.
"Doubles at one, we're right there, lost it 8-6 but, once again, it's another case of we can seem to stay with people for a while and then there's that turning point in the middle part of that doubles pro set or sometimes at the back end of the set where, for some reason, on the big points or at the crucial times, either the folks we play make a tremendous shot or we just don't play well," Love mentioned.
The RedHawks tied the match with a win in the No. 6 matchup which led to another pair of matches that also tied things up. At the third-seed, Schwarz took a three-set win to start a three-match run for the Eagles that led C-N to garner its first victory.
Four Eagles enter the match on one-game singles winning streaks while three are looking to turn around losing streaks, most notable Dabdab who has yet to see a singles victory this season.
"Yes, a few matches this year, we have been outclassed. The people have just been better in spots," Love said. "But overall, we've got to trust ourselves and believe and that happened Saturday; we trusted ourselves enough to go for the right shots when we needed to, to win some of the big points."
The Knights (2-4) come into the match following a 6-3 loss to Georgetown College this past Saturday. The Knights took two of the three doubles matches over the Tigers but could only muster one win in singles play as No. 4 Andrew Jones won in straight sets, 6-2 and 6-4.
Head coach Tyler Worley is in his first season at the helm of the men's program after playing for the Knights from 2007-2010 and serving as an assistant coach for the team since 2014.
In 2017, the Knights went 7-15, 2-4 in Great Lakes Valley Conference action. The GLVC Preseason Coaches' Poll tabbed the Knights to finish sixth in the East Division for 2018.
Three different Knights have shared time at the No. 1 spot this season in singles play including Lauren de Boeck, Matthew Momper and Sam Rueff who have gone a combined 0-6 at the top seed so far.
On the doubles side, Momper and Rueff have proven to be the most successful with a 2-3 overall record, playing at the top two positions, mostly as the No. 1 pairing.
Carson-Newman has won all three of the meetings since the series began in 2012, winning by a combined 17-10 mark.
Last season, the Eagles took a thrilling 5-4 victory over the Knights after falling into a 2-1 deficit by the end of doubles play. The meeting came down to a staunch battle at the No. 6 spot as Kevin Mendes fell in the first set to Jones, 4-6, before taking the final pair of sets, 6-2 and 6-0.
Saturday's match between the Eagles and Knights is slated to begin at 11 a.m. at the Buddy Catlett Tennis Complex. Full results and a recap will follow on CNeagles.com.
