GREENVILLE, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman men's tennis team had their sights set on defeating the Tusculum Pioneers on Wednesday afternoon, but that was not the case as the Pioneers won 7-2 on their home court.
"A disappointing loss for us." Carson-Newman tennis coach Jean Love said, "I thought we were ready to take a step up but we just did not do it today."
Joao Pedro Oliveria (Brazil) and Gabriel Dabdab (Brazil) got things going for the Eagles at No. 2 doubles. The duo won their fifth consecutive match 8-6, the tandem is 5-0 in conference play, while boasting a 6-2 record at the No. 2 doubles spot.
The No. 1 doubles tandem of Stefano Daza (Venezuela) and Rodolfo Schwarz (Brazil) were unable to duplicate their winning ways and lost 8-4. The pair are now just 1-7 overall on the season and 1-4 in conference play.
The final doubles pairing of Marc Bantel (Germany) and Jesus Bacete-Sanz (Spain) have now lost three consecutive matches. The duo lost 8-6 to the team of Yago Fernandez and David Siegle.
Carson-Newman (4-6, 3-3) tried to get back in the match during singles play, but Tusculum (10-4, 5-1) was there to answer the Eagles advance. Oliveria set the tone for the Eagles in the No. 1 singles position. The senior dominated the first set 6-1, but then lost the final two sets 6-2, 6-2. The loss keeps the seniors record at 6-6 on the year.
Daza was unable to find success at the No. 2 singles position as he lost in straight sets 6-3, 6-3. The senior has now lost three consecutive matches and is just 1-5 in conference play. One of the few bright spots of the afternoon came at No. 3 singles. Schwarz was able to win his second match of the season at No. 3 singles 6-1, 6-4. The win snapped a three match losing streak for the junior and the match was the first time all season that Schwarz was able to win in three sets.
Bantel lost in straight sets 6-3, 6-0 at No.4 singles to drop his overall record to 3-8. The junior from Germany is currently on a two-match losing streak. Dabdab was unable to find success at the No. 5 singles position losing 6-3, 6-2. The freshman has an overall record of 6-4 and 2-2 in conference play.
Kevin Mendes (Chattanooga, Tenn.) saw a five match winning streak come to a close on Wednesday afternoon. The junior lost 6-1, 6-2, it was just his second loss of the season. Mendes has an overall record of 6-2 with a conference record of 4-2.
The Eagles next match will be at home on Sunday afternoon. The match will begin at 1 p.m. at the Buddy Catlett Tennis Complex. Livestats of the match can be found at cneagles.com/live.
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