KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – For the first time in 2022, the Carson-Newman men's tennis team was in action as they took on the Union (Ky.) Bulldogs (2-2, 0-0 AAC) Saturday afternoon. It would be the Eagles starting off the spring season with a resounding 5-2 team victory.
Saturday's head-to-head season opener against Union (Ky.) will mark over a decade since the Eagles and Bulldogs square off, as the last meeting between the two came back in March 2011. In the last meeting, Carson-Newman's Chris Acker and Derek Holdway secured the only doubles point with their win at no. 3 doubles. Meanwhile, Paul Birdsong claimed the lone singles victory as he took home the no. 6 singles win.
The day started off with the Eagles (1-0, 0-0 SAC) looking to take the early advantage and gain the early 1-0 advantage after doubles.
Freshman Marnix Van Dalen (Netherlands) and senior Rintaro Oka (Narita, Japan) came away with the first C-N doubles victory of the day as they won 6-2. Junior Marc Janse (Zeewolde, Netherlands) and sophomore Lars Hordijk (Dordrecht, South Holland) were paired up once more for CNMT. The duo, after a strong showing in the fall portion of the schedule, saw Saturday go 6-3 in their opponent's favor. Finally, junior Ids Waterbolk (Bennekom, Netherlands) and freshman Gjorgji Jankulovski (Macedonia) were in action as they took home a 6-2 result and secured the doubles point for the Eagles.
"It was a strong start and good preparation as we now get ready to face a top-10 team tomorrow in North Georgia," graduate coach Gabriel Dabdab said. "The team came out ready today and I know Union is a top-10 team in the NAIA, so for us to come out and perform this way shows how tough our team is"
Then, in singles action, Gjorgji Jankulovski would make it 2-0 Eagles after winning his first official singles match for C-N by a final of 6-0, 6-1. He would be followed up by "Mr. Undefeated" from last season, Marc Janse, who took home a huge victory from number two singles by a final of 6-2, 6-2.
The winning kept rolling for Carson-Newman Saturday as Ids Waterbolk made it 4-0 in favor of the Eagles after taking his number six singles match. Waterbolk got off to a strong spring start as the final result Saturday fell in his favor 6-1, 6-3.
Finally, Lars Hordijk came out in his first official action for the Eagles, competing as the number five singles player. After finishing off his fall on a strong note, the sophomore took home a 6-4, 6-3 victory for C-N, moving the team to five points and securing the overall victory ahead of tomorrow's much anticiptated matchup with North Georgia.
Unfortunately, freshman Marnix Van Dalen suffered a small setback from number one singles as he fell in two sets. The Bulldogs saw that match go in their favor by a final of 7-6, 6-1. The other Bulldog victory on the afternoon came from number three singles as that would be the lone singles match to go the distance. C-N's Rintaro Oka fought tooth and nail to gain victory, but he would fall 3-6, 6-2, 12-14 but could still celebrate the team's first victory afterwards.
The Eagles return to action tomorrow as they host Division II powerhouse and number 10 ranked North Georgia Nighthawks for a 11 a.m. first serve. The Eagles and Nighthawks square off from the confines of the Knoxville Racquet Club.
"They have a kid who is number two in the country, so that speaks volume for the type of team they are," Dabdab said. "I know this team knows what they need to do so we should be able to come out and battle for every point in order to challenge ourselves and them tomorrow."
Be sure to keep up with all things Carson-Newman tennis at cneagles.com and on all social media.
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