JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman women's tennis (9-2, 3-0 SAC) gets back to some sense of normalcy as they hold two matches this upcoming week, one at home and one on the road. The Eagles will host east Tennessee rival, LMU, on Tuesday before heading to Hickory for a much-anticipated matchup with the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears on Saturday.
The Eagles come into this week's pair of matches after being nearly perfect in their lone match of the week against the UVA Wise Cavaliers. The Eagles left Wise with a 6-1 win and now have won seven straight since losing to Sewanee back on Feb. 17.
Last Saturday also saw a rarity for the Eagles as senior and no. 25 women's singles player in DII tennis, Ana Carla Resende (Minas Gerais, Brazil), would sit out and not take to the courts in either singles or doubles.
However, the Eagles still pulled out the win in all three doubles matches as C-N only dropped three total games over the three matches. As singles play started, the Eagles had no trouble continuing their momentum and winning all but one singles match.
The lone win for the Cavaliers came from the racquet of Liza Akimenko in number one singles as she defeated Summer Reeves by scores of 6-2, 6-4.
"Girls dominated from beginning to the end. This sets us up nicely heading into the tougher slate of our conference season and we're looking forward to hosting LMU on Tuesday," graduate coach Gabriel Dabdab said.
SCOUTING LINCOLN MEMORIAL
Last year's meeting between the two east Tennessee rivals would go back-and-forth before LMU defended home courts and held onto a 4-3 win. The win marked LMU's second straight win over C-N as it was the third straight matchup between C-N and LMU that has ended in a 4-3 result, with LMU winning two out of the last three from Harrogate.
Last year's meeting was a battle of momentum and came down to the very last match on the court. LMU freshman Mae Fitzgerald was the hero for LMU as she claimed the 7-5, 7-6 victory at number six singles and helped LMU defend home court and move to .500 on the season in SAC matches for the 2020-21 season.
In their last match this season, Lincoln Memorial bested fellow SAC program, Mars Hill, by a final of 5-2 as they captured the doubles point before going on to take four out of six singles matches en route to a win.
Julia Valls and Valentina Ascarrunz paired up for the clinching doubles point in the number one position before each won their respective singles matches in straight sets. The two would be joined in winning both doubles and singles by Sophia Array.
The #26 ranked Railsplitters head into Tuesday with a 3-1 mark in SAC play with an overall record of 13-3.
"Mars Hill came out fired up and ready to play, and we had to dodge a few bullets to get those doubles points," said head coach Mark Walters. "Our freshmen did well to adjust to being on the road for the first time this year, and this was a test for them."
SCOUTING LENOIR RHYNE
Saturday will serve as a chance for Carson-Newman to try to rebound after last year's 5-2 defeat from their home courts.
L-R would take the overall doubles point, but C-N did win from number two doubles thanks to the efforts of Hannah Price and Natasha Forrest.
"The girls had a very solid chance to claim victory today," head coach Jim Frederick said. "All three freshman continued their careers with the final matches of three sets being 6-4 which speaks highly of them."
Once singles action picked up, it was only Ana Carla Resende and Forrest who claimed wins. Resende, in her usual number one singles slot, took home a 7-5, 6-3 decision. Meanwhile, Forrest battled in number five singles as she walked away with the 8-6 decision.
2022 has been a record-setting year for the Bears as in their last match, a SAC meeting with Catawba, it was L-R winning 6-1 and extending their win streak to 11 which stretches their own program record set this year.
The Bears swept doubles and won five out of six singles matches to win without a doubt. Diana Babinets would be the lone Bears athlete to lose in the match during a hard-fought 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 three-set thriller.
The Bears will see two matches on Monday and Tuesday before hosting the Eagles this Saturday as Lenoir-Rhyne will host Lees-McRae in a makeup contest Monday while playing host in SAC play against the Coker Cobras on Tuesday.
Opening serve from Jefferson City is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. between the Eagles and Railsplitters Tuesday from the Buddy Catlett Tennis Complex. Meanwhile, the Eagles and Bears will square off in Hickory with a first serve scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Saturday.
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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