VIDEO: Gjorgii Jankulovski Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman men's tennis team looks to defend its home court on Friday as the Eagles play host to the Eagle Invitational at the Buddy A. Catlett Tennis Complex.
The Eagles will welcome in Tusculum and Bluefield State for the one-day event, as the Eagles will see the Pioneers for the second time this season. Going into his first home event as head coach of the Eagles, Jon Parker is excited despite some nerves coming along with it.
"It's a little bit nerve-wracking," Parker said. "We initially had five schools, including ourselves, but a couple of schools had to back out due to transportation costs… Thankfully, Bluefield State and Tusculum can make the trip."
After an impressive performance at the Belmont Abbey Invitational, Parker is looking for his team to continue fighting at home.
"We're looking to persevere," Parker said. "To show a little bit of a fighting attitude, because sometimes toward the later part of your non-championship season, student-athletes can wane a little bit in their intensity, so my thing is to push through this last event and play with a lot of intensity."
After securing two singles wins, and three doubles wins at Belmont Abbey, junior Gjorgii Jankulovski is excited to return home and play at his home court and for some newcomers to experience it for the first time.
"It will be great for them to get used to it," Jankulovski said. "For us who are back on the team, it's always exciting to play at home, and for me, playing in front of a home crowd is one of the best things about college."
Regarding competition, Jankulovski is excited to see Tusculum again after facing off with the Pioneers at the LMU Invitational, and despite not knowing much about Bluefield State, he is ready to compete.
"It was a tough match with them at LMU," Jankulovski said. "They have some good players on their team… I don't know much about Bluefield State, but we will see tomorrow, and I'm excited to go out and give my best."
Going into the last fall season event, Jankulovski is encouraged by the team's continued improvement in preparation for the spring season.
"One of the main goals has been finding our doubles partners," Jankulovski said. "I think we are pretty much set up for doubles, and we have been practicing hard. The motivation is always for the spring season, and we have our goals so that we will try our best."
Jankulovski and the Eagles wrap up the fall season tomorrow in the Eagle Invitational at Buddy A. Catlett Tennis Complex in Jefferson City, Tennessee, starting at 9 AM.
