ANDERSON, S.C. – A 2-1 lead through doubles play was overshadowed by a Trojan comeback as Carson-Newman fell to No. 23 Anderson 6-3 on Tuesday afternoon at the AU Tennis Complex.
The Eagles (2-10, 0-6 SAC) extend their winless streak to six matches marking the longest streak of losses the team has faced in a season since 2015 when the Orange and Blue also dropped six-consecutive matches. The Trojans (11-4, 5-1 SAC) remain undefeated against C-N in the eight meetings between the two teams.
The No. 2 duo of Gabriel Dabdab (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Jesus Bacete-Sanz (Madrid, Spain) opened the day with an 8-4 victory over Jeffrey Dayton and Hank Sartain. The C-N pair has now won two-straight matches.
That win was closely followed by another 8-4 victory, this time for the top-seeded tandem of Rodolfo Schwarz (Brazil) and Kevin Mendes (Chattanooga, Tenn.) over Tomas Depiaggio and Hufelder Duarte.
Marc Bantel (Germany) and Taylor Barie (Woodstock, Ga.) fell at the No. 3 spot to Ignacio Bidegain and Preston Morpeth, 8-6, cutting the Carson-Newman lead to 2-1 heading into singles action.
In the top-seeded matchup, Dabdab was defeated by Bidegain in back-to-back 6-2 sets before Barie fell to Morpeth at the No. 4 spot in straight sets, 6-2 and 6-3.
Schwarz won the first set of the second-seeded match with a 7-6 advantage before Dayton answered in the second with a large 6-1 to send the match into a third set that he also took with another 6-1 advantage.
Bantel fell in his first match against Depiaggio at the No. 3 spot with a 6-4 score before bouncing back with a 6-4 win of his own to send the match into a third-set tiebreaker. The set was won with a 6-1 advantage for Depiaggio, putting the Trojans up 5-1, all but handing the win to Anderson.
Mendes was the only Eagle to see success in the second half of the day, defeating Simon Wilson in straight sets at the fifth-seed, 6-2 and 6-3. The senior has now won three-straight matches.
The final match of the day saw Bacete-Sanz fall in a pair of 6-3 matches to Duarte at the No. 6 spot.
The losses pushed the winless streaks of Dabdab, Schwarz, Barie and Bacete-Sanz to six-consecutive matches.
The Eagles return home on Thursday to host the Catawba College Catawba Indians. That showdown is scheduled to serve off at 1:30 p.m. at the Buddy Catlett Tennis Complex.
