JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Another early advantage through doubles play pushes the men to a sweep in singles as the Carson-Newman men's tennis team fell picked up an 8-1 win over Bellarmine on Saturday afternoon at the Buddy Catlett Tennis Complex.
The win gives the Eagles (2-4) their second-straight win of the season and their first victory on their home courts. C-N remains undefeated in the series with the Knights with a 4-0.
Carson-Newman jumped out to a 2-0 lead in doubles play as the No. 3 duo of Rodolfo Schwarz (Brazil) and Joseph Stiles (New Oxford, Pa.) picked up a hefty 8-1 victory over L.J. Allara and Andrew Jones. The win marks the second-straight for the duo.
At the top-seed, Gabriel Dabdab (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Jesus Bacete-Sanz (Madrid, Spain) took down Matthew Momper and Sam Rueff, 8-4.
Bellarmine's (2-5) lone win in doubles play and the entire day came at the No. 2 spot as Alex Swords and Nick Johnson defeated Marc Bantel (Urbach, Germany) and Taylor Barie (Woodstock, Ga.) with an 8-7 decision.
Singles play was dominated by the Eagles as they won all six matches in straight-sets.
The No. 2 spot saw Bantel take a 6-4, 6-0 win over Momper before Dabdab flew threw his top-seeded match with Rueff, 6-1 and 6-3.
"I'm really proud of the guys' effort today," head coach Jean Love said. "I'm happy for (Gabriel) Dabdab as he gets his first win of the season."
The third-seeded match saw Schwarz take a 7-5, 6-4 straight set win over Swords, pushing the Eagle lead to 5-1, virtually sealing the deal for Love's team.
Bacete-Sanz faced Johnson in the No. 5 match as the junior won with 6-3 and 6-1 decisions.
Barie and Stiles brought home the final two wins for C-N on the day at the No. 4 and 6 spots, respectively. Barie notched 6-1 and 6-2 sets over Jones while Stiles had back-to-back 6-3 sets over Joseph Naville to end the day.
Next on the docket for the Eagles is their conference-opener as Love's team takes a trip to Newberry for a Sunday matchup. First serve between C-N and the Wolves is set for 1 p.m. at the Oakland Tennis Center.
