KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Carson-Newman men's tennis team doesn't drop a match against Virginia-Wise as they earn their first dub this season at the Knoxville Racquet Club winning 7-0.
This was the first time the Eagles have ever faced the Cavaliers in tennis competition and their efforts weren't disappointing.
"It went pretty much as we expected," Coach Jim Frederick said of men's efforts. "The boys dominated and lost only four games. They were competitive matches and we kept positive attitudes throughout."
Doubles competition wasn't a problem for the Eagles as only one of their lost games came from the top doubles' duo. Gabriel Dabdab (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Jesus Bacete-Sanz (Madrid, Spain) defeated Dominic Hoffman and Coleton Burke 6-1. Rintaro Oka (Narita, Japan) and Joey Stiles (New Oxford, PA) knocked down John Hamilton and Luke Jarnagin 6-0 at No. 2. Finishing out the doubles matches were Marc Bantel (Urbach, Germany) and Viktor Ireno (Sau Paulo, Brazil) prevailing against Daniel Laughlin and Jakub Blach 6-0 as well.
"We competed well and did what we could," Coach Jim said. "We focused on our game and maintained our own level of play throughout the matches."
Similar to the ladies' match, bagels were all over the place for the men against the Cavaliers. At No. 1 and No. 2, Dabdab and Oka went 6-0, 6-0 each defeating Coleton Burke and Dominic Hoffman. Oka is now 3-0 in his freshman season.
Bantel and Stiles both won their matches and only dropped a game each against Luke Jarnigan and John Hamilton at the No. 3 and No. 5 singles. Bacete-Sanz and Daniel Cox (Chattanooga, Tenn.) had bagels of their own defeating Daniel Laughlin and Jakub Blach 6-0, 6-0.
"I was proud of how we played," Frederick said. "We took care of what we could control and didn't play to the level of competition. We're looking forward to the busy nine days ahead."
The Eagles will hit the courts again on February 14that Lee University. For information and results check back on cneagles.com.
- CN -