JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – For the first time this season, Carson-Newman women's tennis (5-2, 0-0 SAC) will take to the courts of the Buddy Catlett Tennis Complex as the 2022 SAC season gets underway Friday and Saturday. The Eagles will play host to the visiting Coker Cobras on Friday before welcoming in the Limestone Saints on Saturday.
Carson-Newman comes into SAC play after wrapping up their nonconference season last weekend with a perfect 2-0 weekend after sweeping Belmont Abbey 7-0 and taking the near-margin 4-3 win over Lee from the Knoxville Racquet Club.
"This is a big weekend for us and it's exciting that we are able to play two home matches in a row. Having home court advantage will be helpful as we compete as well," graduate student Hannah Price said. "I'm excited for us to play because we have put so many hours into preparing for these conference matches and this whole season."
Last Saturday marked the second consecutive clean sweep of Belmont Abbey by C-N. The match saw Carson-Newman sweep doubles play as the pairing of Ana Carla Resende (Minas Gerais, Brazil) and Summer Reeves (Maidstone, Kent, England) got C-N on the board with a dominant 6-1 win in number two doubles.Then, in number one doubles, C-N clinched the doubles point after Hannah Price (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Natasha Forrest (Jersey, United Kingdom) took down the pairing of Kayla Vaughan and Lily Aranyos, 6-3.
As singles play started, the Eagles had no trouble continuing their momentum and winning every single matchup by a comfortable margin, as every match ended in the two-set minimum.
The first singles match to go final Saturday against the Crusaders was number six singles involving Maria Ulloa. The C-N freshman took a 6-0, 6-0 win as she doubled C-N's lead to 2-0. The Eagles also saw graduate student Hannah Price look utterly dominant as she only dropped one game to BAC's Lily Aranyos with a 6-1, 6-0 win. The match was finalized as Anita Chornei compiled another victory for the Eagles as she was victorious 6-0, 6-1.
In the nightcap, it was the Eagles getting off to a hot start as they once again took all three doubles matches and an early 1-0 advantage. The Eagles clinched the doubles point over Lee by way of Ana Carla Resende and Summer Reeves who won 6-1 over Maiz and Kirr for the Flames.
In singles, it was the even numbered matches which fell in favor of C-N. In number two singles, Summer Reeves met the two-set minimum as she defeated Lee's Kirr by a final of 6-4, 6-4.
Things kept rolling as C-N saw Hannah Price continue her winning ways on Saturday with a 6-2, 6-4 win from number four singles as the Eagles needed one more point to clinch the overall victory.
The final singles win for C-N came from number six singles and Anita Chornei who took a near-flawless performance to claim a 6-1, 6-1 win to help C-N secure their third straight win of the spring.
SCOUTING COKER
Carson-Newman and Coker will square off for the second straight year on March 4 as last year's meeting was a dominant 7-0 clean sweep by the Eagles in Hartsville. Summer Reeves led the Eagles with her sixth consecutive singles victory from the number four slot, while the Eagles barely trailed in any match against the Cobras.
The day started off with Carson-Newman taking all three doubles matches. Hannah Price and Natasha Forrest won 6-2. Ana Carla Resende and Abby Reis won 6-0. Julia Speiser and Summer Reeves claimed the doubles sweep with a 6-0 victory.,
In singles, C-N saw victories from every match but most notably from Resende who notched her 24th career win from number one singles in her Eagles career.
The most recent action came for Coker as they opened up South Atlantic Conference play last weekend against Newberry. The Cobras were swept 7-0 by the Wolves.
In the conference opener, it was the number one singles matchup of Zulay Castaneda from Newberry versus Coker's Jessica Binzari which saw the closest margin of victory. After dropping the first set, Castaneda responded to keep the sweep alive with a 6-3 victory in both the second and third set over Binzari.
Prior to arriving in Mossy Creek, Coker would face Queens (N.C.) from the Queen City on Tuesday. Cobras dropped its South Atlantic Conference match to Queens (N.C.) on Tuesday 7-0.
SCOUTING LIMESTONE
Carson-Newman is no stranger to starting SAC play against the Saints as they have seen Limestone to start SAC play in consecutive seasons, as last February was a 5-2 Eagles win from Gaffney.
Ana Carla Resende was the keypoint for the Eagles as she was victorious in both doubles and singles. In doubles, she and Abby Reis won 6-2. Then, in singles, Resende would win 6-4, 7-6 in no. 1 singles.
"Girls were in charge the entire match. Ana Carla won a very tough match even though she did not play her best," head coach Jim Frederick said.
Hannah Price would also win in doubles alongside Natasha Forrest, as she would then go on to take a 6-0, 6-1 singles win as part of the Eagles win. Summer Reeves was able to capture a strong showing in singles as she won 6-2, 6-3 while Julia Speiser collected a 6-0, 6-1 deluge in singles as well.
So far in 2022, Limestone saw some early stumbles but have seen responded as they hold a 4-2 record this season as they have won four straight over Converse, North Greenville, Southern Wesleyan, and Erskine prior to SAC play beginning this weekend.
In their last match this season, it was Limestone overcoming the Flying Fleet of Erskine and winning 4-3 last Thursday. The Saints would go 4-2 in singles as all four wins came in straight sets. This moved the Saints' win total to four after losing to DI opponents Gardner-Webb and UNC-Asheville to begin the year.
Anastasiia Khriapko won in singles, 6-3, 6-1, while freshman Galilea Amavizca earned Limestone a point with her 6-2, 6-1 win. The Saints also saw sophomore Sara Valentini and Anamaria Kiszner-Luca dominate in singles with 6-1, 6-0 (Kisnzer-Luca) and 6-3, 6-2 victories (Valentini).
Opening serve between C-N and the Cobras is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Friday while the Eagles and Saints get underway at 1:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon. This weekend's action will commence from the Buddy Catlett Tennis Complex in Jefferson City on the campus of Carson-Newman.
"The whole team comes together and I think they're excited for Conference play to get started," Frederick said. "This weekend will be like any other where we need to have the same mindset of going out there and competing every single match and for every single point."
Be sure to keep up with all things Carson-Newman women's tennis at cneagles.com and on social media on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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