BRISTOL, Tenn.—The Carson-Newman women's tennis team wrapped up its 2016 season on a high note as the squad took down King 7-2 Sunday afternoon to snap a two-match losing streak and to send seniors Patricia Guerreiro (Fernao-Ferro, Portugal), Brooke Sanderson (Evans, Ga.) and Haleigh Chastain (Knoxville, Tenn.) out with a win.
"We cleared the bench today and everyone came in a did a great job," coach Jean Love said following the match. "It was a good day of tennis."
The win over King (6-15) Sunday afternoon was C-N's (14-6) 14th of the season and matched the single-highest season mark in the past seven years for the program. Carson-Newman's 2009 women's team recorded a 14-2 total on the season before losing in the round of 32 in the national tournament.
Guerreiro was able to win the final match in her career as C-N's No. 2 player in singles swept Marianne Hull 6-0 in two sets for a quick victory. The senior polishes off her Carson-Newman career with a 40-30 singles record as well as a 46-30 record in doubles play.
The Fernao-Ferro, Portugal native exits her senior campaign with 12th singles victories after begin the season with 10-straight in the category.
Chastain fell to Katya Cerny 6-2, 6-4 in the fourth-seeded contest in what plays out to be the final match of her career. The Knoxville, Tenn. native concluded a four-year stint with the Eagles on Sunday after serving time up and down Love's lineup cards throughout the span.
Sunday's match against the Tornado started off with Carson-Newman taking two of the three contests in doubles play.
Guerreiro and Jill Corsato-Owsianka (Duesseldorf, Germany) defeated Alyssa Salazar and Marianne Hull 8-4 at No. 1 while Mallory Jackson (Erwin, Tenn.) and Gabrielle Wood (Woodstock, Ga.) won 8-2 over King's Catherine Vezey and Haley Maloney at No. 2.
The Eagles' No. 3 pairing of Catherine Cook (Morristown, Tenn.) and Merry Carson (Huntsville, Tenn.) would then fall 8-1 in the third-seeded contest before C-N took off in singles play to win five of the six matches in the round.
Freshman Ali Harris (Crossville, Tenn.) led things off with a 2-6, 6-0 and 6-2 win over Nia Gilliam at No. 1 to pick up her 12th win of the season. Hannah Ayers (Woodstock, Ga.) would then pick up a win over Salazar 6-4, 6-2 in the fifth-contest of the day.
Sydney Ledington (Corbin, Ky.) would also pick up a win on the afternoon as the sophomore downed Haley Maloney 8-2 in the sixth-match of the day.
Sophomore Corsato-Owsianka added another tally to her team-high win total as the second singles player for C-N defeated Vezey 6-4, 6-1 to finish off the season with a 17-2 record in singles play. Corsato-Owsianka won 14-straight matches from Feb. 26 to April 8 and was a consistent threat atop the Carson-Newman lineup for the entire season.
To keep up with Carson-Newman women's tennis throughout the offseason, check into cneagles.com for updates and news releasing's.
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