C-N shutout by #39 Queens in regular season finish

C-N shutout by #39 Queens in regular season finish

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A hefty deficit early in the afternoon proved to be too much for Carson-Newman as the Eagles fell to No. 39 Queens, 9-0, on Saturday at the Queens Sports Complex.

This is the first time this decade that C-N has suffered back-to-back shutout matches after falling to Tusculum on Tuesday.

The Eagles (7-9, 4-6 SAC) extend their losing streak to Queens (12-3, 8-2 SAC) to five-straight matches. They close the regular season on a two-match losing skid and are now 0-4 in regular season finales played against conference opponents this decade.

The top-seeded doubles match was the first to conclude as Jill Corsato-Owsianka (Düesseldorf, Germany) and freshman Abby Reis (Des Moines, IA.) fell to the No. 41 doubles tandem of Yana Fleyer and Sasha Davidzenka, 8-2. At the No. 3 spot, Klara Vuckovic (Germany) and Sydney Ledington (Corbin, Ky.) fell to Caroline Nielsen and Hannah Lehfeldt, also in an 8-2 decision.

Ali Harris (Crossville, Tenn.) and Alisa Liashova (Ukraine) were unsuccessful in the final match at the No. 2 spot as the Royals' duo of Carlotta Nassi and Isabel Fornies took an 8-3 victory to put their team up 3-0 at the turn of the afternoon.

Reis took on the 42nd-ranked singles player in the nation in Fleyer at the No. 2 position, falling in straight sets, 6-1 and 6-0, before Price also took a straight-set defeat to Davidzenka in consecutive 6-1 decisions at the three-seed, putting the Royals up 5-0 quickly to win the day.

Mallory Jackson (Erwin, Tenn.) could not find success against Fornies at the No. 5 spot, losing 6-3 and 6-0. In the top-seeded match, Harris fell to No. 58 Nassi, 6-4 and 6-2.

The sixth-seeded matchup provided the closest set of the day as Vuckovic and Ana Bolson faced a tie at sixes that needed a tiebreaking point which fell in favor of Bolson, 7-6. The second set was not as close with Vuckovic falling, 6-1.

Liashova took Nielsen to an extra point in the opening set of the fourth-seeded match but fell in straight sets, 7-5, 6-1.

The Eagles close out the regular season at seventh in the conference standings, leaving them in a spot for postseason action.

Head coach Jean Love's squad now prepares for the SAC Tournament which will begin Tuesday. The Eagles, serving as the No. 7 seed, will make the trek up I-81 to nearby Greeneville to take on a No. 14 Tusculum that is the second-seed in the conference field.