Eagles dominate competition in fall finale at Eagle Invitational

KNOXVILLE, TN – The Carson-Newman women's tennis team went 17-1 against Martin Methodist and Maryville College, winning all but one event in both singles and doubles play at the Eagle Invitational in Knoxville. 

"I think the kids had a good time being together," Carson-Newman coach Jim Frederick said. "I think it felt good to win as much as they won." 

Before the event, Frederick emphasized the importance of his team building mental strength and he thinks the competition helped his team do just that.

"I think what we were good at was, we didn't play down to a lesser opponent," Frederick said. "A weaker mental team may have done that but we didn't succumb to that, we were good in that sense."

Despite the lack of competition, the event ended up being a bit of a team bonding experience. 

"It was a great team bonding thing," Frederick said. "A lot of the parents were there, the kids enjoying being together, so I think we got better as being together as a team."

The one loss came in doubles play in which Ana Carla Resende (Minas Gerais, Brazil) teamed up with Hannah Price (Knoxville, TN).

"They lost because they made a lot of tough mistakes," Frederick said. "It was disappointing because we shouldn't have lost."

The Eagles were expecting a bit more pushback from their opponents but Tennessee Wesleyan and the University of the Cumberlands pulled out of the competition due to fear of rain in the area which did not come to fruition. The forecast did result in a cancellation of day two of the event, however.

Frederick hoped the event would help to shed a bit of light on how he can order the lineup come the spring semester, but it didn't help in that respect.

"We have a bit of a log jam in the middle of the lineup," Frederick said. "We have been a little bit inconsistent this season and our inter squad matches haven't really cleared things up. So that's what we have to get better at is the consistency."

The Eagles now look ahead to the beginning of the spring season which opens up on Jan. 31st, 2020 in a dual-meet against Christian Brothers.

Be sure to keep up with Carson-Newman women's tennis team on C-N's social media platforms and on cneagles.com.