JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – After opening its South Atlantic Conference schedule with a trio of losses, the Carson-Newman women's tennis team gears up for a weekend of more conference matches, heading to Lenior-Rhyne on Friday and hosting Coker on Sunday.
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.
Since she lost all three of her singles matches last week, Jill Corsato-Owsianka (Düesseldorf, Germany) 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.
Lenoir-Rhyne (8-3, 1-1 SAC) enters the match looking to bounce back after a 6-3 loss to Anderson last Saturday.
With Tom Rees at the helm, the Bears have had three ladies split time at the No. 1 spot with Marta Escanero Funes spending the most time there with a 2-3 record. On the doubles side, Saane Janssen and Emily Murchland have spent a majority of the season at the top spot, garnering a 3-2 record.
The Bears were predicted to finish the season at eighth in the conference according to the preseason coaches' poll after going 9-12 last season. Iulia Ponomareva was the only Bear to be named an All-SAC preseason player as she landed on the second team singles list.
Since the start of the decade, the Eagles have won seven of the eight meetings with C-N holding a two-match winning streak. The last face-off saw the Eagles snag a 6-3 win at L-R, grabbing their first conference win of the 2016-17 campaign. C-N swept doubles play and kept momentum on its side in singles action.
Friday's match is set to begin at 1:30 p.m. at the YMCA of Catawba Valley in Hickory, N.C
Coker (5-4, 0-1 SAC) comes to Mossy Creek on Sunday after a match in nearby Harrogate, Tenn. against LMU on Saturday. The Cobras currently hold a two-match losing streak thanks to losses against Tiffin and a 9-0 shutout against Tusculum.
Jennifer Ruetten has spent the most time at the top singles position with a 1-4 record while Suzanna Mickey has had the most success at the second-seeded spot at 5-2.
On the doubles side, Ruetten and Julia Sorrells have played the most at the No. 1 position with a 3-2 record while Jennifer Mezei and Mickey have gone a perfect 5-0 at the No. 2 spot.
The Cobras landed at 10th in the preseason coaches' poll after a 6-9 record last season, 4-7 in SAC matches.
Coker and Carson-Newman each have two wins apiece in the series dating back to March 14, 2014. The last match fell in favor of the Eagles, 7-2 on March 11 of last season. C-N won two of the three doubles matches before the Eagles went on to take five matches in the singles portion of the day.
Sunday's match at the Buddy Catlett Tennis Complex will begin at 1 p.m.
