TEMPE, Ariz. – For the third consecutive rankings release, it is Carson-Newman men's tennis claiming a spot in the ITA top 50 for DII men's tennis as announced Thursday. The Eagles maintain their spot as no. 24 for the second straight week after claiming their first ever ranking (no. 23) under head coach Jim Frederick for the week of March 10.
So far in 2022, the Eagles sit at 10-3 overall and remain unblemished in SAC competition with a 4-0 record. In SAC play for 2022, the Eagles have yet to surrender a point to opposition as they have outscored opponents 28-0 through the four matches.
Meanwhile, C-N freshman Marnix Van Dalen (Netherlands) continues to be one of the top singles players in all DII, coming in at no. 30 for the latest rankings. This is Van Dalen's highest rankings as a singles player as he was previously ranked no. 31 (March 10) and no. 33 (March 17).
The Eagles continue to have one of the best spring seasons in program history as they have amassed double-digit wins for the first time since 2009, as far back as records show. In their collection of wins, the Eagles are outscoring opponents 62-7 overall. The closest margin of victory for C-N this season came against DIII powerhouse, Sewanee, when the aforementioned Van Dalen played hero to clinch the 5-4 victory on Feb. 15.
In his debut season for the Eagles, Van Dalen has gone 16-7 overall, including 8-5 in the spring and 4-0 in SAC play. Most notably, it was the freshman who clinched the team win for C-N over DIII powerhouse Sewanee in mid-February. Of his five spring losses, one came against the now no. 3 ranked Joaquin Benoit from North Georgia in the Eagles' second match of the season.
As Van Dalen comes in as the highest ranked SAC player in the latest rankings, he is joined by Queen's Edorado Bottino (#50) and Tusculum's Fransesco Bonacia (#60) as the other South Atlantic Conference men's singles players to be ranked in the top 75 for the March 24 poll.
Carson-Newman is one of six total teams representing the South Atlantic Conference in the Division II team rankings for the week of March 24. After the Eagles who come in as the highest ranked SAC school; Wingate is 29th, Lenoir-Rhyne is 30th, Tusculum is 33rd, and Anderson is 37th.
The Eagles will be in action for a battle of nationally ranked foes when they travel to Hickory, N.C. on Saturday. No. 24 C-N will square off with no. 30 Lenoir-Rhyne as the two are the last remaining programs without a SAC loss. First serve between the Eagles and Bears is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Saturday.
Be sure to keep up with all things Carson-Newman men's tennis via cneagles.com and on all social media outlets.
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