YOUNG HARRIS, Ga.– After wrapping up their time in Sumter two weekends ago, Carson-Newman men's tennis is back in action this Saturday and Sunday from the confines of the Bob & Gayle Nichols Tennis Complex in Young Harris, Georgia. The Eagles will be taking part in the YHC Hidden Dual Team Championships.
The last time the Eagles were in action during the 2021 season took place in Sumter, South Carolina as part of the ITA Southeast Regional Qualifiers. At the event, Carson-Newman saw junior Marc Janse (Zeewolde, Netherlands) make it all the way to the men's singles round of 32. Meanwhile, freshman Gjorgji Jankulovski (Macedonia) also made it to the singles round of 32 before dropping the result, much like Janse. The final Eagle who maintained a consistent winning path was sophomore Lars Hordijk (Dordrecht, South Holland) who made it to play four matches before dropping to Luka Brown in a battle of unseeded competitors.
Making his ITA debut, freshman Richard Dulganov (Hungary) ended his ITAs debut in the consolation bracket after seeing his time cut short due to injury. Joining Dulganov in the consolation bracket would be senior Rintaro Oka (Narita, Japan) who made it all the way to Saturday night of action before seeing his singles action ended. Finally, junior Ids Waterbolk (Bennekom, Netherlands) saw a short stop in the consolation bracket in Sumter. After losing his round of 132 matchup to start his time, Waterbolk would see only one match in the consolation bracket before falling and being called upon to cheer on his teammates.
Meanwhile, in doubles action, the Eagles saw the duo of Gjorgji Jankulovski and Ids Waterbolk bypass first round action as a 9th-seeded pairing before going on and defeating their first opponents of the tournament. Sadly, Jankulovski and Waterbolk could only muster one victory as in their next match, they were handed a loss.
The Eagles duo of Marc Janse and Lars Hordijk were unable to continue their momentum from first round action as they also were defeated in their second match of the ITAs by an overall 3rd-seeded pairing.
The final Eagles pairing of Rintaro Oka and Richard Dulganov faced a similar fate as Janse and Hordijk. The duo came off a win on opening night as they were scheduled to play 9th-seeded doubles of De Groot and Horne the next morning. De Groot and Horne walked away 8-3 winners and eliminated the Eagles from action in Sumter.
Action for Carson-Newman men's tennis will start Saturday morning at 9:00 am. from Young Harris as the event was shortened from three days to two days due to inclement weather in the area.
Be sure to keep up with Carson-Newman men's tennis across the Eagles' social media platforms.
