JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. -- Fresh off of a big win at Catawba over the weekend, Carson-Newman men's tennis is confident and ready heading into back to back days of competition at Mossy Creek against Anderson (S.C.) and the University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) on Tuesday and Wednesday.
"The men were excited after Saturday," Coach Jim Frederick said. "Their focus now is what do they have to do to get into the tournament? As far as I can see is that they have to win at least one for sure, probably two, but might as well start tomorrow."
The match against Catawba on Saturday came down to junior Gabriel Dabdab (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) at the No. 2 position. He took the first set 6-4 but Joel of Catawba 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. That win marks the first time Dabdab has won a third-set match since his freshman year.
"It's crunch time, we've got two weeks to go in the season," Frederick said. "It's how we respond to winning, the guys have a little more confidence. We changed the doubles lineup up and got the doubles point which we haven't done as often as I had hoped so that was good."
Now on a two match win streak, the Eagles are 3-13 overall and 2-5 in conference compared to Anderson's 9-6, 3-3 SAC record. Heading into the match, the Eagles have not been able to scratch off a win against the Trojans since 2010. Anderson is sitting at No. 6 in league standings.
Following Tuesday the Eagles will face NAIA competition, the University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) on Wednesday. The Patriots are 8-4 overall and 3-1 in their conference heading into the match and are ranked 18th in the NAIA Coaches' poll. The Eagles have gone 4-2 against the Patriots since 2010 and look to continue that trend on Wednesday.
Tuesday's match will begin at 1:00 p.m. and Wednesday's will begin at 2:00 p.m. at the Buddy Catlett Tennis Complex. For more information, updates and results check back on cneagles.com.
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