WINGATE, N.C. – The Carson-Newman women's team is set to start the fall 2021 season as the Eagles make the trip to Wingate, North Carolina for the Wingate Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 11th and Sunday, Sept. 12th.
The Eagles come into the 2021-22 season after wrapping up their spring 2021 season with an appearance in the semifinals of the SAC Tennis Championships. In spring 2021, Carson-Newman women's tennis finished 13-7 overall and 8-4 in SAC contests, including a massive upset victory over the Queens Royals on April 2. The 13 wins in the spring season are the most for an Eagles squad since the 2015-16 season when C-N finished 14-6 on the year.
Heading into this year, the Eagles see two players graduating after wrapping up successful Eagles careers in Alisa Liashova and Abby Reis.
For the 2021-22 season, head coach Jim Frederick sees six players returning from last season as well as one athlete returning to the Eagles program and a freshman joining Mossy Creek.
"This year should be something special for the girls, as we have a lot of girls returning from last year including Ana Carla who is nationally ranked," head coach Jim Frederick said. "We have had a strong start to the fall and I think the girls are ready to showcase their talents in a tournament like this."
Senior Ana Carla Resende (Minas Gerais, Brazil) will lead the charge for Carson-Newman women's tennis in the 2021-22 season. Last season, the Brazil native helped lead the women's team to another appearance in the SAC women's tennis tournament. Due to her efforts on the court, Resende rose to as high as number 42 in ITA individual rankings and leading the team to their first ITA ranking in over a decade (t-37th). Resende made another successful run for the Eagles as number one singles player, as she finished the year 12-1 including wins over ranked opponents in Wingate and Queens. Playing alongside Reis in number one doubles, the pair finished 11-8 overall and held a mark of 7-5 in SAC matchups.
Graduate student Hannah Price (Knoxville, Tenn.) set a new career-high with 13 wins last season, finishing 13-7 overall and 7-5 against SAC foes from number three singles. In doubles, her and junior Natasha Forrest (Jersey, United Kingdom) tied the program record with 15 single-season wins, going 15-4 overall and 10-2 in SAC matchups.
Forrest was active as number four and five singles last season as she collected an overall mark of 11-7, going 7-5 against SAC opponents. In doubles, her and Price tied the Carson-Newman women's tennis program record for single-season victories as they notched a record of 15-4 overall and 10-2 in SAC contests.
Sophomore Summer Reeves (Maidstone, Kent, England) made her C-N debut last season as she went 10-8 in singles and alongside fellow sophomore Julia Speiser, finished 12-6 as the number three doubles pairing for Frederick's team.
Speiser finished her debut season with a 10-8 record as both number five and six singles player for the Eagles. In doubles, her and Reeves went 7-4 against SAC opponents last season. Sophomore Violetta Khisamova (Yaroslavl, Russia) also made her debut for C-N last season. She was only active in singles play, as she went 8-9 overall and 5-6 in SAC play from number two singles.
Carson-Newman women's tennis see a familiar face returning to the program for the 2021-22 season as junior Anita Chornei (Kyiv, Ukraine) rejoins the team. In her last active season, she compiled a 3-6 overall record during her freshman season and was a combined 2-2 in doubles action.
Finally, the Eagles welcome freshman Maria Ulloa to the program as she makes her way from Cuba in hopes of helping the Eagles and Frederick make another run at the SAC women's tennis tournament title.
"We start the season with this tournament before continuing to face high-level talent in the ITAs in the coming weeks," Frederick said.
Things get started on Saturday for Summer Reeves as she faces Veronika Poliakova at 9:30 a.m. in the "Red" draw. Her teammate, Natasha Forrest, will also compete in the "Red" draw as she startsteh fall with a matchup against Alex Lopez at 10:00 a.m.
In the "green" draw, it is the start of the season for Hannah Price as she faces Caitlin Klaassen at 11:00 a.m. In the "purple" draw, Julia Speiser faces Daniella Galeano at 11:00 a.m. Saturday morning.
The "orange" draw sees the debut of an Eagle while another one makes her return to action for C-N. Freshman Maria Ulloa makes her C-N debut against Yaritza Gonzalez at 12:30 p.m. while Anita Chornei returns to action against Angelina Krieg at 12:30 p.m. as well on Saturday.
In doubles action, Price and Forrest pair up again as they start the fall against Aranyos, L. and Hendricks, F. at 9:00 a.m. Saturday. The duo of Speiser and Reeves make another appearance together for C-N as they face Macias, T. and Drake, O. at 9:00 a.m. Saturday morning. Finally, Ulloa and Chornei are paired up as they battle Berggren, S. and Guidantoni, F. at 9:30 a.m. Saturday.
Be sure to keep up with Carson-Newman women's tennis all across the Eagles' social media platforms.
