Interview: Jean Love
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn.— The Carson-Newman men's tennis team picked up its fourth win of the season in dominant fashion by taking down Bellarmine 7-2 Friday afternoon at the Buddy Catlett Tennis Complex.
Friday's win over the Knights (3-4) was Carson-Newman's (4-5) third-straight win.
"The key for us as always is to work on the things we need to do in order to be successful," coach Jean Love said following the match. "The guys really came out slow I doubles but turned it on in singles and that is really good to see."
The Eagles were actually slow out of the gate initially as Bellarmine was able to take two of the three opening round double matches to begin the day.
Jose Legarreta and Zachary Kuo teamed up to take down Stefano Daza (Venezuela) and Juan Sebastian Perez (Ecuador) 8-5 at No. 1 while Jesus Barcete (Spain) and Joao Pedro Oliveira (Brazil) suffered an 8-2 loss a court over in the second-seeded match.
Carson-Newman's lone doubles win came at No. 3 as Lee Presson (Crossville, Tenn.) and Kevin Mendes (Woodstock, Ga.) took down a pair of Knights 8-1 to weather the storm going into singles play.
The Eagles would certainly pick up the pace as the team recorded a clean sheet in singles play to end the afternoon with the score of 7-2.
Oliveira kicked things off for C-N with a 6-4, 6-2 win in two sets in the first round match and Perez quickly followed with the 6-1, 6-3 decision at No. 2.
Daza would keep the winning ways alive in the third match as the junior won 6-1, 6-3. Marc Bantel (Germany) would also keep pace in the fourth slot as the freshman put forth a 6-0, 6-2 victory.
The Eagles would conclude the contest with two more singles win in the fifth and sixth round matches.
Mendes took care of business at No. 5—winning 6-0, 6-2 over Lareun de Boeck—and Barcete took down Vladimir Danicic 6-1, 6-2 in the final match of the afternoon.
"This match was big for us because it allowed us to get out there against live to work on some things and we got the win," Love said. "That gives you some confidence moving forward."
Carson-Newman will hit the courts once more this weekend as the Eagles welcome reigning South Atlantic Conference champions Wingate to the Buddy Catlett Tennis Complex Saturday at 11:00 a.m.
A complete recap of Saturday's conference action can be found on cneagles.com following the conclusion of the match.
-CN-
