JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - Carson-Newman men's tennis will head to Athens, Tenn., to take on NAIA foe Tennessee Wesleyan on Saturday, Feb. 17th, before heading to Young Harris, Ga., to take on Young Harris College.
Originally the Eagles were scheduled to play Lees-McRae in Harrogate, Tenn., but a scheduling conflict led to the Eagles swapping the Bobcats for the Bulldogs.
Carson-Newman began the season with a 6-1 victory over #25 Belmont Abbey. The Eagles went on to compete against #11 North Georgia and #13 Lander. Carson-Newman dropped both bouts 6-1.
"The last few matches for the guys have had their fair share of ups and downs," tennis head coach Felipe Charry said. "It seemed like during each, we had at least three or four guys that had really close matches that could have changed the results. We need to work more on doubles after we lost too many chances against Lander and North Georgia."
The Eagles have only won three doubles sets all season and did not win any against Lander last Tuesday. Two of their doubles wins came against Belmont Abbey when Rintaro Oka and Marc Janse won 6-2, followed by a 7-6 victory by the duo of Javier Crespo Sanchez and Gjorgji Jankulovski.
"We just need to keep our heads up and be patient with the results," Charry said.
Tennessee Wesleyan sits at 4-1 so far on the season. The Bulldogs began the season with a 5-2 victory over Lee, followed by a 4-3 win over Xavier. The Bulldogs moved on to face the number one team according to the ITA NAIA preseason coaches poll in Georgia Gwinnett College. The Bulldogs lost the match 4-1, marking their only loss on the season so far. The loss motivated the Bulldogs to pick up wins against the University of Northwestern Ohio (4-2) and Johnson University (7-0). Riding a two-game winning streak, the Bulldogs now have their sights set on Carson-Newman.
The Eagles last saw Tennessee Wesleyan on Feb. 13th, 2021, when the Eagles lost 5-2. Oka and former assistant coach Gabriel Dabdab were the two Eagles to win points for Carson-Newman. Oka, Marc Janse, Joshua Ott, and Ids Waterbolk are Eagles currently on the roster that faced off against the Bulldogs two years ago.
Tennessee Wesleyan boasts three players in the ITA NAIA top 50. Gabriel Ortiz is the second-ranked player on the list. Ortiz defeated Marc Janse 6-2 and 6-4 back in the 2021 bout. Freshman Nicolas Cortes ranks 27th on the list. Jesus Fernandez sits at 34th. Fernandez only participated in doubles action in the two teams' previous matchup, winning 6-4 against Oka and Julian Froehlich.
Young Harris is 4-0 so far during the spring season after a pair of victories against Mars Hill, followed by wins against Tusculum and Lincoln Memorial. The Mountain Lions are currently not ranked, but did receive votes to be ranked in the most recent ITA rankings released on Feb. 17th.
The Eagles last played Young Harris on Mar. 7th of, 2021. Carson-Newman won the match 4-3 after Waterbolk, Janse, and Dabdab defeated their opponents. The Eagles also won the doubles point after victories from the pairs of Waterbolk/Dabdab and Oka/Janse. The Eagles hold a 2-5 record all-time against Young Harris.
Individual rankings for D2 tennis players will not be released until Mar. 6th. Carson-Newman did not receive a top-25 spot in the most recent rankings posted on Feb. 17th, but the Eagles did receive votes along with 12 other programs that are on the outside looking into the ITA top 25.
Janse, Oka, and Waterbolk will look to lead the Eagles out of their two-game losing slump against their NAIA foe. Janse leads the Eagles in career singles wins with 42. Waterbolk ranks second with 39, and Oka ranks third with 34. Jankulovski boasts the top winning percentage in singles play in program history, winning 78.1% of 32 matches.
Carson-Newman's match against Tennessee Wesleyan will begin at 2:00 P.M.
For more information about Carson-Newman's men's tennis team, visit CNEagles.com or follow Carson-Newman Athletics on social media.
