KNOXVILLE, TN – The Carson-Newman men's tennis team swept Martin Methodist and Maryville College, winning every single event in both singles and doubles play at the Eagle Invitational in Knoxville.
Freshmen Hugo Castets (Gradignan, France), Ids Waterbolk (Bennekom, Netherlands), Joshua Ott (Knoxville, TN) and Marc Janse (Zeewolde, Netherlands) wrapped up their first semester of competition on a high note.
"I think the kids had a good time being together," Carson-Newman coach Jim Frederick said. "I think it felt good to win as much as they won."
Waterbolk has been working on his offensive game and his ability to bend his 6-8 frame to make contact on balls that are hit low to the ground.
"Ids is coming to the net more which is what we talked about," Frederick said. "He is doing what we told him to do which is good. He's never going to be the fastest guy on two feet because of his height which is why he's got to get in between the lines quicker because he can't grind points like some of the other guys can."
It was also an impactful event for senior Gabriel Dabdab (Rio de Janiero, Brazil) who had seen tough losses at the Georgia Gwinnett Invitational and University of the Cumberlands Tournament in which he gave up leads in multiple sets causing him to lose matches that he had a good chance of winning.
"Those were tough climbs he had to make mentally," Frederick said. "I think it felt good for him to win the way he did today. I think mentally, he's in a good place right now."
The Eagles were expecting a bit more pushback from their opponents but Tennessee Wesleyan and the University of the Cumberlands pulled out of the competition due to fear of rain in the area which did not come to fruition. The forecast did result in a cancellation of day two of the event, however.
The event helped to shed a bit of light on how Frederick plans to order the lineup come the spring semester.
"With the guys, I could put three guys at number one, it just depends on who we're playing," Frederick said. "In Hugo's case, for example, he has a tendency to play down to his competition. He didn't do that today which is good."
The Eagles now look ahead to the beginning of the spring season which opens up on Jan. 31st, 2020 in a dual-meet against Christian Brothers.
Be sure to keep up with Carson-Newman men's tennis team on C-N's social media platforms and on cneagles.com.
