Eagles fall to Nighthawks in Competitive Spring Debut

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Despite a handful of competitive matches, the Carson-Newman men's tennis team drops its season opener to North Georgia, 5-2.

SINGLES RESULTS:

No. 1: No. 22 Joaquin Benoit (UNG) def. Marnix Van Dalen (C-N), 7-5/4-6/7-5

No. 2: Marc Janse (C-N) def. Christopher Cahour (UNG), 7-6/7-6

No. 3: Gjorgii Jankulovski (C-N) def. Giulio Sassi (UNG), 3-6/7-6/6-4

No. 4: Robin Eldin (UNG) def. Paul Gayk (C-N), 6-2/6-2

No. 5: Marcos Castellanos (UNG) def. Lars Hordijk (C-N), 6-4/6-1

No. 6: Eliseo Alcalde (UNG) def. Matthew Saunders (C-N), 7-6/6-2

Singles play brought many exciting results, including C-N taking two of the top three singles matches. Gjorgii Jankulovski won in comeback fashion after dropping the first set, and Marc Janse pulled out a tight one in the No. 2 slot. Marnix Van Dalen dropped a thriller in the No. 1 spot to No. 22 Joaquin Benoit, with all sets being decided by two games.

Despite C-N's success in the top three, UNG secured all three matches in the final three positions to secure four points to C-N's two.

DOUBLES RESULTS:
No. 1: J. Benoit/R. Eldin (UNG) def. M. Van Dalen/L. Hordijk (C-N), 6-3

No. 2: G. Sassi/M. Castellanos (UNG) def. P. Gayk/G. Jankulovski (C-N), 6-2

No. 3: Y. Opanasenko/M. Janse (C-N) def. C. Cahour/E. Alcalde (UNG), 6-3

UNG secured the doubles point with two of three going the way of the Nighthawks, but C-N earned a big win in the No. 3 spot as Marc Janse and Yehor Opanasenko fought for a 6-3 win.

With the doubles point under its belt, North Georgia took five of the seven points on the afternoon for a 5-2 win to open the season. C-N falls to 0-1 on the season and will look to build on some of the positives before welcoming the Lee Flames to Mossy Creek on Saturday at 8 am.