C-N returns to Knoxville for pair of weekend tilts

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Much like opening weekend, Carson-Newman men's tennis is set for a pair of weekend matches at the Knoxville Racquet Club when the Eagles face Milligan College on Saturday and King on Sunday.

Fresh off the team's first 2-0 start to the dual match campaign for the first time since 2013, head coach Jim Frederick is looking for the team to take one match at a time.

"Part of it is that we don't talk about what's going to happen next weekend, we've talked about what's going to happen this weekend," Frederick said. "Monday, we'll start talking about the following weekend."

Both opponents in the Buffaloes (1-2) and Tornado (2-2) opened their dual match seasons in the fall with familiar South Atlantic Conference opponents such as UVa Wise and Mars Hill.

Milligan enters Saturday's contest on a bit of a lull in action, having most recently played on Jan. 15 in a 4-3 loss to Lees-McRae. The team's Feb. 1 match against Martin Methodist was postponed, leaving C-N as the next opponent on the table for the Buffs. Six of the team's 10 members are freshmen.

Last season, Milligan finished with a 10-17 record, respectively.

Sunday's morning serve against King will be the Tornado's first match of the spring 2020 campaign, going 2-1 in the fall against a trio of SAC schools in Tusculum (6-1 loss), Mars Hill (4-3 win) and UVa Wise (7-0 win).

Brazilian freshman Alex Sodre carried the role of No. 1 singles in the fall for the Tornado, compiling a 3-1 record overall. Juniors Ross Edgar and Nathan Snow also come into Knoxville with winning fall records at the No. 4 and 5 singles spots.

Opening serve at the Knoxville Racquet Club is set for 2 p.m. Saturday against Milligan and 10 a.m. Sunday versus King.

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