SALISBURY, N.C. -- After defeating Mars Hill just three days ago at Mossy Creek, Carson-Newman men's tennis used the momentum to win a close one against the Catawba Indians 4-3.
"The guys finally played with heart," Coach Jim Frederick said. "They got off to a good start and won the doubles point and Dabdab took the deciding match 6-1 in the third set."
Doubles has proved to be a cloud over the Eagles this season as they have struggled to find the right pairings to win the point. However, they were able to get it together against Catawba and won at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions. Hernan Toledo (Santiago, Chile) and Gabriel Dabdab (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) defeated Jack Joel and Adam Rocko 6-2 and No. 2 while Victor Ireno (Sau Paulo, Brazil) and Joseph Stiles (New Oxford, Penn.) got the win against Darius Perkins and Vid Rados at No. 3 6-3. Rintaro Oka (Narita, Japan) and Jesus Bacete-Sanz (Madrid, Spain) were the only ones to drop their match at No. 1. They fell to Luca Picci and Ryen Reid 6-3.
Riding off the win into singles play, Marc Bantel (Urbach, Germany) came out on top against Perkins 6-3, 6-1 at No. 4 and Bacete-Sanz defeated Rocko at No. 5 6-4, 6-4. The top and bottom of the lineup struggled a bit against the Indians as Toledo fell to Picci 6-1, 6-2 at No. 1 singles and Ireno could not get the win against Rados at No. 6 falling 6-2, 6-2. Oka battled in the second set and almost made it to three, but ultimately fell to Reid 6-3, 7-5.
With the match now at 3-3, it came down to Dabdab and Joel at the No. 2 position. Dabdab took the first set 6-4 but Joel came back in the second and won it with the same score. Heading into the third, Dabdab simply could not be beaten and took the third with ease at 6-1 to win the match for the Eagles.
C-N is now 3-13 on the season and will continue play at Mossy Creek on Tuesday, April 2 against Anderson S.C. at 1 p.m. For more information and updates check back on cneagles.com.
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