JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. -- Carson-Newman (9-7, 5-3 SAC) finished out the second of back to back days playing at home as they took on the Cumberlands (7-5) Wednesday afternoon and came out with a 5-2 win.
"I think we all played pretty well," Sophomore Hannah Price said of the match. "We went into this match prepared for anything, we didn't really know how this team was. I think we all stepped up and played how we needed to play to win today."
In doubles competition, Alisa Liashova (Ukraine) and Claire Smith (Lexington, Ky.) were defeated by Mikaela Fros and Sydney White 6-3 and Hannah Price (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Abby Reis (Des Mois, IA) won their match against Tessa Gray and Grace Steely 6-4 to put it at one apiece. All eyes turned to Ana Carla Resend (Minas Gerais, Brazil) and Ali Harris (Crossville, Tenn.) as they were playing the deciding match for the doubles point at the No. 1 position. After digging themselves into a hole and falling behind 5-2, the duo rallied together as their teammates came to watch and did not let the Patriots win another game as the Eagles won it 7-5 defeating Jaclyn Jewell and Tomomi Nagao.
Heading into singles play, the Eagles had a 1-0 lead. Liashova finished first for C-N defeating Luka Lyttle 6-4, 6-3 at No. 4 to stretch the lead to 2-0. Harris was unable to get more than three games in each set off of Jewell at No. 2 and fell 6-3, 6-3. Smith took her match to three sets against Gray, falling in the first 6-2 but fighting back in the second 6-3. Ultimately, however, she was unable to win a game in the third and dropped it 6-0.
With the match now tied at 2-2, the final three matches were important for both teams to get the wins. Resende took command of her court at No. 1 and defeated Nagao 6-3, 6-0 to take some of the pressure off the others. Price then clinched the match for the Eagles defeating Fros with ease at the No. 3 position 6-1, 6-2 to put the score at 4-2. Reis finished out the day with a cherry on top for the Eagles as she defeated Steely 6-4, 6-3 at No. 5.
"This was a big deal for us to win today," Price said. "Our confidence going into Saturday needs to be pretty high."
The Eagles will face conference opponent Lenoir-Rhyne at home on Saturday in an important match for both teams as it has the potential to put C-N at No. 4 in league standings and give them an opportunity to host the conference tournament for the first time in seventeen years.
"I think everyone knows how important it is," Head coach Jim Frederick said. "This is what we've practiced for the whole year to be in this position and hopefully in years to come, we'll be in this position all the time. I think we're ready, this is what you play for, a big match like this. So it's fun."
The Eagles will play at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Mossy Creek against Lenoir-Rhyne, for more information, updates and results check back on cneagles.com.
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