JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Trying to shake loose from a seven-match losing skid, Carson-Neman prepares to consecutive days of action, beginning with a road trip to Mars Hill followed by a home match against Spartanburg Methodist.
The Eagles (2-11, 0-7 SAC) are still in search of a South Atlantic Conference win after losing to Catawba on Friday, 5-4. A 2-1 deficit through doubles play proved to be too much for Carson-Newman in the afternoon despite making a slight turn with wins in the final three matches.
Senior Kevin Mendes (Chattanooga, Tenn.) is the only C-N player to have a multi-match winning streak in singles play as the senior has won four-straight.
Both C-N and Mars Hill (4-10, 0-5 SAC) sit at the bottom of the Conference standings as the only two teams without SAC wins this season.
At the beginning of the season, second-year head coach Bill Kreger's team was predicted to finish at 11th in the conference's preseason coaches' poll after a 2016-17 campaign that saw the team go 3-16 overall with a 1-10 SAC record.
The Mountain Lions hold the second-longest losing streak in the league with four consecutive, all of those being SAC matchups. Their most recent loss came on Saturday in a 7-2 decision against Coker.
Ben Reid has been the primary man in the top-seeded singles position as the junior has garnered a 6-7 record, 2-3 in SAC action.
On the doubles side, the Mountain Lions have rearranged their duos a plethora of times this season. Six different pairings have seen time at both of the top two positions while four have been called upon at the No. 3 spot.
Reid and Rodrigo Ramos have seen the most time at the No. 1 spot, holding a 1-5 record. Pedro Pinassi and Kyrel Trim have been the most consistently placed duo this season for Mars Hill with right matches at the No. 3 position where they have gone 3-5. They hold a five-match losing streak.
This will mark the tenth meeting between the Mountain Lions and Eagles since the start of the decade. Mars Hill holds a slight 5-4 lead in the series, but Carson-Newman has reigned victorious in the past two matches. The most recent win for C-N came a season ago with an 8-1 advantage.
Thursday's conference meeting is set to begin at 1 p.m. at Mars Hill's Hart Tennis Complex.
