SUMTER, S.C. - #42 Carson-Newman men's tennis (13-8, 10-2 South Atlantic Conference) falls to #26 Tusculum (17-5, 11-1 SAC) in the Quarterfinals of the South Atlantic Conference Championship.
Doubles
Marc Janse and Rintaro Oka paired up to take on Nemanja Subanovic and Marco Jalalian to begin doubles play. The Pioneers won 6-2.
Marnix Van Dalen and Lars Hordijk fell to Rhodri Atkinson and Frank Bonacia 6-4.
Gjorji Jankulovski and Ids Waterbolk were tied with Kenta Kondou and Nathan Matsuguma 5-5 when the Pioneers had clinched the doubles point.
Singles
Marc Janse, the ITA's 73rd-ranked player, defeated Nemanja Subanovic in sets of 6-2 and 6-3. Janse holds an 11-4 record as Carson-Newman's one player.
Hordijk won his fifth consecutive matchup when he took on Matsuguma in the six. Hordijk won in sets of 6-3 and 6-2 to advance to 8-2 on the year.
Oka dropped his matchup with Kondou in sets of 6-3 and 6-2. Jankulovski saw his 13-game winning streak come to an end when he lost to Bonacia in sets of 7-5, 7-6, and 7-4. Atkinson defeated Van Dalen in sets of 4-6, 6-3, and 6-3 to advance the Pioneers to the finals. Waterbolk and Ivan Ivars were tied in the five spot when the Pioneers clinched the match.
The Eagles are ranked 10th in the NCAA Division-II Southeast Rankings. The rankings are the official poll utilized by the NCAA in the championship selection process and will continue to be released each week.
Tusculum will move on to play #14 Wingate in the conference final. The winning team earns an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. The match will begin at 2:00 P.M. tomorrow.
