Resende, Price, and Forrest gain preseason All-SAC laurels

Posted: Jan 28, 2022

ROCK HILL, S.C. – Following a strong 2020-21 season, Carson-Newman women's tennis places three athletes on preseason All-SAC teams ahead of the 2022 spring season, as announced by the conference Friday.

For the third straight preseason, senior Ana Carla Resende (Minas Gerais, Brazil) has earned preseason All-Conference First Team Singles honors. Resende is joined by teammates Hannah Price (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Natasha Forrest (Jersey, United Kingdom) who have been tabbed with preseason first-team doubles honors for the first time in their careers.

Ana Carla held a strong outing in the fall for the Eagles as she finished her 2021 fall campaign with a singles record of 11-3, including a 3-1 mark against regionally ranked opponents and a .500 clip against nationally ranked foes. As a result of her outstanding efforts on the court, Resende was tabbed in the ITA national top 10 for DII women's tennis, currently sitting at eighth. The Brazil native was also able to gain a spot as one of the top women's singles players in the Southeast region, coming in at number two for one of the hardest regions in all DII women's tennis.

"This is not something to take lightly for her or this program. We know she's worked hard for this, and now the target on her back is even bigger now," Carson-Newman head coach Jim Frederick said. "I wish she was a little higher, but just being in the national top 10 is a huge statement for Ana Carla."

One of her most notable achievements during the fall season was being selected as one of the participants in the 2021 ITA Cup, making it all the way to the semifinals before suffering a loss to the number one player in DII women's tennis, Barry's Deniz Khazan.

Meanwhile, for Price and Forrest, their honor comes after turning in one of the best doubles performances for C-N last season. After finishing the 2021 spring season by tying the school record with 15 wins, the duo was named first-team All-SAC for their efforts on the courts. As part of their 15 wins last season, Price and Forrest would go on to finish 10-2 in SAC play, including a pair of victories over ranked opponents from Queens and Wingate while suffering nail-biting losses to Anderson and Tusculum.

"These are both great leaders in doubles for this team. They showed what they could do last season and we know they are capable of helping this team find its groove again," Frederick said. "If they play like they have all season, they could finish with first-team honors at the end of the season, just like they did last year."

So far this season, the pairing is 8-3 in doubles action as no other Eagles pair has won more than three matches this season. The duo started off their fall season with five straight victories in the ITA Southeast Regional and Wingate Fall Invitational. They would go on to gather a trio of victories in the Enchanted Valley Showdown and Eagle Invitational before concluding the fall and getting ready for the upcoming spring season.

The trio of Eagles plus the rest of the Carson-Newman women's tennis program will continue to prepare for their spring season to begin on February 5 as they will take on the Union (Ky.) Bulldogs at the Knoxville Racquet Club.

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2022 SAC Women's Tennis Preseason All-Conference

First Team Doubles

Natasha Forrest / Hannah Price, Carson-Newman

Caity Klaassen / Viktorija Veselinova, Queens

Anna Greer / Katie Robeson, Anderson

Second Team Doubles

Emilie Hansen/Rory Church, Tusculum

Nastassia Chamoun/Lucy Spice, Newberry

First Team Singles

Anna Greer, Anderson

Ana Carla Resende, Carson-Newman