JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn.—Coming off a four-match slate a week ago where the Carson-Newman women's tennis team produced a 3-1 record, the Eagles will be back in action this week for a home match up against North Greenville on Wednesday and a road South Atlantic Conference tilt at Anderson on Friday.
Wednesday's contest against the Crusaders (3-5) will begin at 1:00 p.m. at the Buddy Catlett Tennis Complex and Saturdays conference match against the Trojans (9-6, 4-2 SAC) will kick off at 2:00 p.m. on the campus of Anderson University.
North Greenville, who competes in the Conference Carolinas, are winners of its last three contest which include an 8-1 win against Converse (3/15), a 9-0 sweep over Brevard (3/17) and an 8-1 rout of Lees-McRae (3/18).
Coached by Thomas Kurhajec, the Crusaders boast only three upperclassmen to go along with six freshman and sophomores on the 2016 roster. Last year's contest against North Greenville ended with a 6-3 outcome in favor of the home standing Eagles (7-3, 2-3 SAC) on March 18.
"We are really looking forward to a good competitive non-conference match against North Greenville," C-N coach Jean Love said. "This will be a good opportunity to bounce back from the hard fought loss against Wingate last weekend. It will serve as a good tune up for our next conference opponent on Friday."
SAC play will then resume on Friday as the Trojans welcome the Eagles to town for their seventh conference tilt of the season.
Anderson won its last outing against Lenoir-Rhyne, 6-3, on Mach 18 and field a fairly balanced roster with both seven upperclassman and lowerclassmen apiece. Coached by Joey Eskridge, the Trojans are currently fifth in the SAC standings.
League officials picked Anderson to finish fourth in the preseason polls that were announced prior to the start of the season, as the Trojans welcome back two returners who received preseason All-Conference honors as well.
Rebecca Burning and Ivey Welborn teamed up to account for 13 wins a season ago competing as the squad's No. 1 pairing. The duo also got the nod in the singles poll following Burnings 2015 campaign of 17-2 and Welborn's record of 7-7. Both players alternated in the No. 1 and 2 slots for the Trojans in singles play.
"Anderson will be a tough conference opponent for us," Love said. "We have held tough battles with them each of the last two seasons. We must play well and do the little things consistently in order to give ourselves a chance to win the match."
Senior Patricia Guerreiro (Portugal) is coming off one of her best weeks doting a Carson-Newman uniform as she combined for a 7-1 overall record a week ago in both singles and doubles play. With singles victories against Brevard, Lenoir-Rhyne, Bellarmine and Wingate, Guerreiro stands as the only Eagle player with an undefeated singles record.
A complete recap following each day of competition against the Crusaders and Trojans can be found at cneagles.com at the conclusion of each match.
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