Non-conference play at Reinhardt next for C-N

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn.—The Carson-Newman women's tennis team will try to make it two wins in-a-row as the team travels to Reinhardt Wednesday for a noon first serve in what will be the seventh out-of-conference match of the season for the Eagles.  

C-N (11-4) will head south on I-40 to clash with Reinhardt (9-3) who have won its last three contests. 

The Eagles, who is also the nickname for Reinhardt, took down Milligan 5-4 on March 26 and then turned around to defeat Columbia 9-0 on March 28. Reinhardt then made it three wins in-a-row when the squad disposed of Bluefield College 7-2 on March 3.  

Coached by Jennifer Sackman, Reinhardt showcases two seniors in Alyssa Kroll and Alyssa Siebold and another junior before giving way to three more underclassmen that comprise the 2016 roster.

Carson-Newman has already matched a season-best for wins, winning 11 matches for the first time in seven years. The 2009 Eagles' squad also won 11 matches son the year.  

A big reason for the success thus far on the season has been from the strong play of Carson-Newman's top-three singles players: freshman Ali Harris (Crossville, Tenn.), senior Patricia Guerreiro (Portugal) and sophomore Jill Corsato-Owsniaka (Germany).

Harris's record atop the eagles' lineup has witnessed C-N's No. 1 player go 8-6 on the year. Guerreiro began the season 9-0 before stumbling for the first time on the season against Anderson on March 25 where the senior had to exit due to injury. The Portugal native still has the second-best record on the team of 11-3 on the season.

Corsato-Owsianka has a 13-1 record on the season and the sophomore has not lost a match since Feb. 21 at South Atlantic Conference foe Newberry. Crason-Newman's No. 3 player has reeled off 12 wins in a row to date.

The Eagles' top-two doubles pairings have also set the tone early on in matches this year. Corsato-Owsianka and Guerriero has totaled six wins in the leadoff spot for Carson-Newman and Harris and Brooke Sanderson (Evans, Ga.) sport an 8-1 record on the year.

"We have a couple of non-conference matches this week prior to a Saturday's conference match with Queens.  We are looking to continue to work on doubles and singles improvements during the non-conference matches," coach Jean Love said. "Also, we will be able to rest some players in preparation for next conference match.  We have given great effort and seen improvement throughout the season.  We are really focusing on finishing the season strong.  Sometimes in sports and in life, you do not get the outcome that you wanted.  The measuring stick is did you persevere? Did you give it everything you had?  I expect no less from both teams.  They have given great effort all season and have improved. A strong finish is now needed regardless of outcome."

A full recap following Carson-Newman's tennis match with Reinhardt can be found on cneagles.com at the conclusion of action. 

-CN-