WINGATE, N.C. – Carson-Newman (5-8, 3-4 SAC) were in action Saturday against the number 13 team in Division II, Wingate (9-1, 7-0 SAC). The Eagles have seen slight success against the Bulldogs in the past, but Saturday was all about Wingate keeping their spot atop SAC steady. Wingate was able to build momentum early and defeat C-N by a team score of 6-1.
"Wingate has been on top of the conference and we tried our best to make it tough," grad student Gabriel Dabdab said.
The highlight for C-N on Saturday was sophomore Marc Janse (Zeewolde, Netherlands) who kept his singles record in SAC play unblemished as he moves to 7-0 in 2021 against SAC foes. Janse and the rest of the Eagles squad knew no match result (win or loss) was going to be easy. Janse saw his number two singles battle go to all three sets as he kept the fight and was victorious with a 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 decision. Janse was the only Eagle to have his match go to three sets as the rest of his teammates kept it close, but were swept in the minimum two sets.
The day started for C-N with some tough battles in doubles against the Bulldogs, but both number one and two pairs were bested as Wingate gained the valuable doubles point and kept that momentum rolling throughout the majority of singles.
For C-N singles, junior Rintaro Oka (Narita, Japan) played at number one singles where he fell 6-4, 6-2; sophomore Ids Waterbolk (Bennekom, Netherlands) fell 6-1, 6-2 at number three singles; grad student Gabriel Dabdab (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) kept his record above .500 but was defeated 6-0, 6-3 at number five and sophomore Joshua Ott (Knoxville, Tenn.) saw another tough loss from number six singles as his opponent gained the 6-0, 7-5 decision.
After Saturday, Janse builds upon his team lead as a singles player and moves to 9-4 in 2021 from the number two singles spot. Beyond the efforts of Janse, C-N has seen one athlete keep his singles record above .500 through 12 matches, which is Dabdab who has collected a 7-6 singles record while playing in the number five singles position.
Janse is also a part of the leading doubles pair for C-N alongside Oka who have played five matches together and won three of the five. The next closest pair is Dabdab and Waterbolk who play as the number one pair and hold a 5-8 record in 2021.
In the series history between the two programs, Wingate maintains their dominance during this decade as they are now 12-0 against C-N since 2010. Saturday's result matches the closest result between the two when action takes place in Wingate since C-N lost 7-2 to Wingate in 2017.
The Eagles will look to reassert themselves in the SAC as they travel to Greeneville on Wednesday for a matchup with the Tusculum Pioneers. First serve is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Be sure to keep up with all things Carson-Newman men's tennis at cneagles.com and via all social media accounts.
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