CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A day after gaining their second consecutive win over the Newberry Wolves, no. 23 Carson-Newman men's tennis (13-6, 7-3 SAC) remained on the road as they headed to the Queen City for a pivotal SAC meeting with the no. 36 Queens (N.C.) Royals. As the Orange and Blue wrapped up the road trip, it would be a 4-3 result from the Levine Tennis Center falling in favor of the Royals.
Saturday's result marks the ninth straight win for the Royals over C-N, winning every match between the two programs since 2013-14.
"A heartbreaking loss for the boys. We knew that it was going to be a battle from the beginning. Started out 3-0 down with doubles, and #1 and #2 singles, with their players playing some of the best tennis I've ever seen in DII tennis," graduate coach Gabriel Dabdab said. "However, the momentum changed as Ids could get the win."
The Orange and Blue would not be able to gain any early momentum as the Royals would clean sweep doubles, with only one match being decided by fewer than four games.
In the number one doubles spot for the Orange and Blue, Ids Waterbolk (Bennekom, Netherlands) and Gjorgji Jankulovski (Macedonia) fell by a final of 6-2 to Edoardo Bottino/Laurenz Blickwede. The pairing moves to 13-6 overall this spring and 6-4 in SAC competition.
The Eagles would then go on to see number two doubles be decided 6-1 in favor of Queens as well. The pairing of Marc Janse (Zeewolde, Netherlands) and Lars Hordijk (Dordrecht, South Holland) were no match for Edoardo Cecere/Win Steveker as they now move to 12-7 overall and 7-3 against SAC foes.
Finally, Marnix Van Dalen (Netherlands) and Rintaro Oka (Narita, Japan) were paired up in the number three doubles flight. The duo would see the closest doubles margin on Saturday, falling 6-4 to Berk Enc/Yoan Roussinov. This moves Van Dalen/Oka to 8-10 overall and 4-5 in SAC action.
Singles competition saw the Orange and Blue be winners in three matches, but it would not be enough as Queens took the remainder of the action en route to ending C-N's hopes of a massive win.
At number one singles, 52nd-ranked Edoardo Bottino saw action against another nationally ranked foe, 47th-ranked Marnix Van Dalen of C-N. In the battle of ranked opponents, it would be the home team taking a 6-0, 6-1 win and keeping the advantage on the scoreboard alive. Van Dalen moves to 10-9 overall and 6-4 against SAC opponents for the 2022 spring season.
Then, the winning kept going for Queens as Edoardo Cecere handed Marc Janse a 6-0, 6-4 defeat to move the junior to 15-4 overall and 8-2 in SAC play for 2022. The loss also ends Janse's four-match win streak for himself, which led the team.
The Orange and Blue would look to recapture momentum as Ids Waterbolk was back at the number five singles flight. Saturday saw the 6'7 junior rattle off a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory and move himself to 15-2 overall and 8-1 in SAC for the season. The win allows Waterbolk to move into a three-way team lead with 15 wins alongside Marc Janse and Lars Hordijk.
The margin would close to 3-2 with the efforts of Gjorgji Jankulovski at number four singles. The freshman gathered his 14th win of the spring by a final of 6-2, 5-7, 6-3. Jankulovski is now sitting at 14-5 overall and 9-1 in SAC play for his debut season.
Finally, Lars Hordijk would the last Eagle to win on Saturday as he pulled off a 0-6, 7-6, 7-5 comeback victory in order to capture his 15th win of the spring. So far this season, Hordijk is 15-4 overall and 8-2 in SAC competition.
"Lars came back after losing the first eight games, and Gjorgji and Rin had both won the first set. However, Rin started cramping and given his history, we decided that it was better for him to retire," Dabdab said. "Overall, Queens is a great team, and we knew we would have chances. It could have gone both ways."
The last result came by way of number three singles and Rintaro Oka. After holding serve to a three-set match, Oka would retire after playing to a 5-7, 7-5 result in the first two sets.
No. 23 Carson-Newman will return to SAC play in another road trip as they head to Anderson (S.C.) on Wednesday to meet the Trojans. First serve is slated for 2:00 p.m. between the programs at the Anderson Tennis Complex.
"With a couple of matches still to go during regular season, it is safe to say that the boys can beat anyone when we get to the tournament," Dabdab said.
Be sure to keep up with all things Carson-Newman men's tennis at cneagles.com and on social media on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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