JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – As the Eagles came up unsuccessful in three days of consecutive action last week, they look to get back on track against Shawnee State on Wednesday at the Buddy Catlett Tennis Complex.
Carson-Newman (3-6, 0-3 SAC) lost its trio of South Atlantic Conference opening matches, facing Lincoln Memorial, Newberry and No. 20 Wingate. The Eagles were able to take two matches apiece against the Railsplitters and Wolves but were shutout by the Bulldogs to close out the slate of days.
The shutout to Wingate marked the second 9-0 loss of the season for C-N.
In the trifecta of matches, the Eagles took a singles and doubles win in each of the two victories. Against Lincoln Memorial on Thursday, Hannah Price won in a three-set tiebreaker at the No. 3 spot, 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 while Jill Corsato-Owsianka (Düesseldorf, Germany) and Abby Reis picked up an 8-5 win at the top singles spot.
On Friday at Newberry Ali Harris and Mallory Jackson garnered a No. 3 doubles win in a close 8-6 victory. In singles action, the Alisa Liashova (Ukraine) was successful at the fourth-seed with back-to-back 6-3 sets.
Since she lost all three of her singles matches last week, Corsato-Owsianka is still just one win shy of surpassing Patricia Guerreiro for the most singles victories since 2010. She currently holds a singles record of 38-25 in her four-year career, 3-6 this season.
As a whole, the Eagles have only had one winning outing at home this season out of the five matches played at the Buddy Catlett Tennis Complex. That lone win came on Feb. 21 when Lee university came to the banks of Mossy Creek as C-N won with a slim 5-4 margin.
Shawnee State (2-10) comes from the Mid-South Conference of the NAIA. The Bears are a season removed from a 3-17 record, going 1-5 against conference opponents.
Head coach Steven Boone is in his second season at the helm of the Bears' team. His roster is filled with 14 women that are led by a trio of seniors in Abby Brinkman, Mykalley Detty and Kathleen Singer.
The Bears enter the match on an eight-match losing streak. Their last win came on Sept. 23, 2017 against Mount St. Joseph in a 7-2 victory. They have gone 2-5 in road matches this season.
This will be the first match between the two teams in each of their programs' history.
Wednesday's meeting between the Bears and Eagles features a first-serve time of 1:30 p.m. from the Buddy Catlett Tennis Complex.
