JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn..—The Carson-Newman men' tennis team will have an opportunity to gain significant ground in the South Atlantic Conference standings with a trio of conference action this week beginning with a home tilt against Catawba Tuesday at the Buddy Catlett Tennis Complex.
"Although the outcome has not always been what we wanted, I have seen us getting better throughout the season in singles and doubles," coach Jean Love said of her team. "I know I sound like a broken record, but it's the way it is. We have got to start stringing together smartly-played points at the crucial times. If we can do this, we can give ourselves a chance to win."
The Eagles (5-7, 2-4) welcome the Indians (8-9, 3-4) to Mossy Creek for a 2:00 p.m. tune up Tuesday before hitting the road for the next two weeks. Catawba has won its last two outings of the season with a 5-4 win over Lincoln Memorial on March 16 and a 7-2 defeat at Brevard on March 22.
Originally slated on 3, the match against the Indians was postponed to Tuesday because of the threat of rain. Catawba currently sits eighth in the conference standings and boast a good deal of experience on the 2016 roster that includes four seniors and three juniors.
Carson-Newman will then travel to LMU (6-8, 4-5) Thursday afternoon for a 1:30 p.m. start time. The Railsplitters currently sit seventh in the SAC polls and are coming off a 4-5 loss against Catawba. Led by coach Benny Collins, LMU's roster is largely ran by underclassmen as three sophomores and two true freshman make up the bulk of the eight-man squad.
The Eagles will continue the road trek on Saturday with a contest at Mars Hill (4-10, 1-6) beginning at 1:00 p.m. The Lions lost their last outing of the season against Queens, 2-7, on March 26 and the team's only conference win of the season came at Brevard on March 23 after completing the contest with a seven-point advantage over the Tornados.
John Hunter leads a Mars Hill club that has five juniors and seniors returning this season. The Lions are 10th in the SAC standings as of Monday, March 28.
Carson-Newman currently rests a spot ahead of the Lions in the standings at ninth and have been paced by the No. 3 doubles pairing of Lee Presson (Crossville, Tenn.) and Kevin Mendes (Woodstock, Ga.). The duo have combined for a team-leading five wins in the third-slot of doubles play.
"The one thing that is unquestioned is the effort we give match in and match out. I am proud of the effort we put forth every day," Love said. "In 28 years of coaching, I am sure I have been around other teams who have given great effort regardless of the outcome. I can say this current team ranks as one of the top-teams in the effort department. I look forward to watching us compete this week."
A full recap following each day of action can be found at cneagles.com and updates throughout the season on Carson-Newman men's tennis can be viewed on twitter at @CNathletics.
-CN-
