Charlotte, N.C.—The Carson-Newman men's tennis team dropped a South Atlantic Conference tilt to Queens 7-2 Saturday afternoon after struggling to find momentum in both doubles and singles play.
Carson-Newman (6-12, 3-7) defeated Mars Hill 7-2 during its last outing in conference play on April 2, but the Royals (10-2, 8-1) were too much to handle on the afternoon to end the day with the five-point advantage.
"I can't say this enough, the guys are giving great effort," coach Jean Love said following the loss. "I am proud of their competiveness even if the outcome wasn't in our favor. Even though we lost, Queens knows they were in a battle."
Queens began the afternoon taking two of three doubles contest from the Eagles to jump out to a 2-1 lead.
Carson-Newman's No. 1 doubles pairing of Stefano Daza (Venezuela) and Juan Sebastian Perez (Ecuador) began things with an 8-0 loss. Jesus Bacete-Sanz (Madrid, Spain) and Joao Pedro Oliveira (Brazil) would then respond in the second-seeded contest, wining 9-8.
Lee Presson (Crossville, Tenn.) and Kevin Mendes (Woodstock, Ga.) were unable to follow suite, however, as the paring lost 8-5 in the third round of action.
The Royals would again jump out to an early advantage when play translated over inot singles competition.
Oliveira would go down 7-5, 6-3 at No. 1 and Perez would follow with a 4-6, 6-1 and 6-1 three-set loss in the second-seed.
Daza would then tally the Eagles' second point of the afternoon at No. 3. The junior handled Andor Vas 6-4, 1-6 and 6-3 to account for his fifth win of the season.
Queens would then again take control and win the final three contests of the afternoon.
Marc Bantel (Urbach, Germany) would fall to Zachary Williams in three sets 6-2, 5-7 and 12-10 at No. 4 while Mendes lost 6-3, 6-0 to Ole-Jacob Meum in the fifth match.
Bacete-Sanz would cap of the day for Carson-Newman with a 6-3, 7-5 loss at No. 6.
The Eagles will return to action on Tuesday, April 12, with their final home match of the season against South Atlantic Conference rival Tusculum beginning at 2:00 p.m.
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