GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (7-10, 5-6 SAC) finished off their regular season Friday with the conclusion of a match with the Tusculum Pioneers. The major highlight from the two East Tennessee rivals tussling comes from sophomore Marc Janse (Zeewolde, Netherlands).
With his result of 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 from number two singles, Janse moves to 11-0 against SAC foes in singles action. This win also gives Janse the new program record with 13 single-season victories, overtaking Jonathan Allen's 2013 record of 12-6. Janse has been a steady component to the Eagles finding success throughout the 2021 season.
Janse played in number two singles on Friday after seeing a match as the number one singles player on Tuesday for C-N. In his 2021 campaign, Janse has played four matches at number one singles and holds a perfect .500 record of 2-2, but his spotlight has shined brighter from number two singles as he is an imposing 11-2 from the position this season.
"He is having a special season, one like I've never seen before," grad student Gabriel Dabdab said. "To him, this is just another regular day in his life but I'm proud to be his teammate."
Beyond Janse's new program record, grad student Julian Froehlich (Kobenz, Austria) was the other Eagle to gain a victory and help C-N secure two points in the match. The Austria native saw his SAC singles record move above .500 as he finishes the regular season at 6-5 including an overall record of 7-3 from number five singles. Against Tusculum, Froehlich was once again playing number five singles and took home a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 result.
The match did not start off well for C-N as they were defeated in all three doubles matches and surrended the elusive doubles point to their Pioneer opposition. Of the three matches, Janse and junior Rintaro Oka (Narita, Japan) held the highest chance to gain a victory. Their match ended 7-6 (7-4) in favor of the Pioneers, which makes C-N's duo fall to 5-4 in 2021 and a .500 record of 4-4 against SAC opponents when playing together.
All other singles matches for C-N saw the athletes compete for every point, but no Eagle could claim a set as they were all eventually swept. Grad student Gabriel Dabdab (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) came back to C-N for this last season as a player and has made the most of every match. His latest result fell 6-3, 6-4 to his Tusculum counterpart. As the regular season has concluded for the Brazilian, he is currently sitting with the third-most career wins by an Eagle in singles with 28 while amassing the second-most doubles victories over his career with a total of 33, only five behind Joao Pedro Oliveria who collected 38 from 2014-17.
As for Froehlich, his Eagles career sees his final results after the 2021 regular season as such: 13-14 in singles (playing matches from number three, four, or five) and 8-18 in doubles with matches played as the number two or three pairing.
The Eagles will look to build upon their regular season as they start action in the 2021 SAC Men's Tennis Championships next week from Sumter, S.C. For the 2021 format, the top eight teams will secure a spot as C-N is currently sitting in sixth place ahead of Lincoln Memorial and Limestone. Be sure to keep up with all things Carson-Newman men's tennis at cneagles.com and via all social media accounts.
-CN-
