ANDERSON, S.C. – A flip-flop scoring affair in singles play forced the day to be decided by the final match on the court at the No. 6 spot with the Eagles falling to Anderson 5-4 on Tuesday afternoon at the AU Tennis Complex.
The loss brings the Carson-Newman (5-7, 2-4 SAC) winning streak to an end at two matches. The Trojans (7-7, 3-3 SAC) now lead the series with an 8-1 advantage.
The No. 2 tandem of Alisa Liashova (Ukraine) and Hannah Price (Knoxville, Tenn.) fell in the first match of the day as Ivey Welborn and Victoria Wuilloud took an 8-2 advantage.
Jill Corsato-Owsianka (Düesseldorf, Germany) and Abby Reis (Des Moines, IA.) put C-N back into the match winning in an 8-4 decision at the top-seeded position over Laura Dean and Jacqueline Olivia.
Klara Vuckovic (Germany) and Ali Harris (Crossville, Tenn.) kept the winning ways alive for the Eagles with an 8-6 victory over Cameron Blanchard and Delaney Wiggins to put the Eagles up 2-1 after the first portion of the day.
Top-seeded Harris faced the 25th-nationally ranked singles player in Dean for the first match of the second half of the day with the Trojan junior taking a 6-2, 6-1 straight-set win to tie the match at two.
Price stepped up at the No. 4 spot against Wuilloud with back-to-back 6-3 sets to put the Eagles back in the lead. Olivia was not to be outdone in the three-spot, defeating C-N's Reis with a clean 6-0 set that was followed by a 7-5 second set.
Reis now holds a team-high eight-match losing streak. She has yet to see a win in her three appearances at the third-seeded position.
SAC Player of the Week Corsato-Owsianka continued her winning streak to three matches, defeating Welborn 6-1 and 7-6 at the No. 2 spot. The Eagle senior has yet to lose a match since becoming the winningest Eagle for C-N singles play this decade.
Liashova's two-match winning streak came to an end on Tuesday as she fell to Blanchard in a pair of 6-1 sets at the No. 5 spot, tying the day at 4-4, leaving the deciding match at the sixth-seeded position.
Vuckovic returned to the court for the first time since the team's faceoff with Newberry back on March 16. Her return was less than ideal as the sophomore fell to Hannah Weaver, 7-5 and 6-3, giving the win to Anderson.
The Eagles return home on Thursday to host the Catawba College Catawba Indians. That showdown is scheduled to serve off at 1:30 p.m. at the Buddy Catlett Tennis Complex.
