JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman embarked on a two-match winning streak with its second-consecutive South Atlantic Conference win in a dominating 8-1 victory over the visiting Coker Cobras on Sunday afternoon at the Buddy Catlett Tennis Complex.
The Eagles (5-6, 2-3 SAC) won five-straight matches to start the day and cement the win early. They now take a slim lead in the series record dating back to 2014, holding a 3-2 advantage against the Cobras (5-6, 0-3 SAC).
Doubles action was heavily in favor of the Orange and Blue.
The top-seeded tandem of Jill Corsato-Owsianka (Düesseldorf, Germany) and Abby Reis (Des Moines, IA.) started the day with a powerful 8-1 win over Jennifer Mezei and Suzanna Mickey. They are now 5-5 in matches played at the No. 1 spot, 6-5 overall.
Their success was followed closely by the No. 3 duo of Mallory Jackson (Erwin, Tenn.) and Ali Harris (Crossville, Tenn.). Despite a battle provided by Charlotte Clarke and Kelli Hurt, the C-N pair was resilient with an 8-5 advantage.
The No. 2 spot saw the closest match in the early portion of the afternoon as Alisa Liashova (Ukraine) and Hannah Price (Knoxville, Tenn.) took on Jennifer Ruetten and Julia Sorrells. Both sides battled into a 7-7 tiebreaker Carson-Newman's pair edged their way past the Cobras' duo in an 8-7 win, putting the Eagles up with a 3-0 margin.
On the heels of garnering her 39th career singles victory, Corsato-Owsianka kept the wheels turning with back-to-back 6-0 sets over Suzanna Mickey in her second-straight showing at the second-seeded position.
In the No. 4 match, Price also notched a straight-set victory with a pair of 6-3 advantages, giving the Eagles a 5-0 lead, winning the match with four duals left on the day.
The only match Coker was successful in on Sunday came at the third-seed. Reis took the first set with a 6-3 score before Ruetten answered in the second set with a 6-2 win to send the match into a third set. Ruetten was able to sneak by Reis with a 7-5 tiebreaker win to cut the C-N lead 5-1.
The freshman now faces a seven-match losing skid.
Another three-set tiebreaker was needed in the No. 1 match as Harris took a close 7-6 first set that was followed by a 7-5 win in the second by Mezei. The third-set saw Harris come out on top with a 10-7 victory.
The win breaks a three-match losing streak for the junior.
Carson-Newman poured on wins in the final two matches of the day as fifth-seeded Liashova won 8-4 over Clarke before Jackson closed out the day at the No. 6 spot with an 8-6 win over Jenna Gainey.
The Eagles head back on the road Tuesday for another SAC matchup, this time traveling to Anderson, S.C. to take on the Trojans. That match is slated to begin at 1:30 p.m. at the AU Tennis Complex.
