SUMTER, SC – With a solid regular season under its belt, No. 30 Carson-Newman (13-5, 11-2 SAC) opened up SAC Tournament play with a stellar showing, defeating No. 38 Lenoir-Rhyne (10-7, 7-6 SAC), 4-2 in the SAC quarterfinals.
"We were a bit tight getting started, but we cruised through singles play," head coach Jon Parker said. "We had some good wins, and this momentum will keep us going for tomorrow's matchup."
Despite dropping the doubles point, C-N bounced back nicely, securing four singles points to clinch the match over the Bears. Three of the four Eagle wins came in straight sets, as Marc Janse, Paul Gayk, and Matthew Saunders took care of business in their respective positions. Marnix Van Dalen clinched the match for C-N, responding to a first-set loss to take the next two and earn the fourth and decisive point of the match.
SINGLES RESULTS
No. 1: Marnix Van Dalen (C-N) def. Nevio Dux (L-R), 2-6/6-1/6-1
No. 2: Marc Janse (C-N) def. Zachary Cox (L-R), 6-0/6-2
No. 3: Gjorgji Jankulovski (C-N) vs. Vadym Rogynski (L-R), 6-3/3-5 (unf.)
No. 4: Rufus Plane (L-R) def. Lars Hordijk (C-N), 6-1/6-2
No. 5: Paul Gayk (C-N) def. Raphael Champaud (L-R), 6-4/6-2
No. 6: Matthew Saunders (C-N) def. Connor Donley (L-R), 6-2/6-2
The Bears were able to secure the doubles point early on, taking both No. 1 and 3 doubles to take an early advantage. Paul Gayk and Marc Janse earned a hard-fought win at No. 2, but it wasn't enough to get the early point.
DOUBLES RESULTS
No. 1: Plane/Rogynski (L-R) def. Van Dalen/Hordijk (C-N), 7-5
No. 2: Janse/Gayk (C-N) def. Cox/Selde (L-R), 6-4
No. 3: Dux/Donley (L-R) def. Jankulovski/Saunders (C-N), 7-6
With the win, C-N advances to the conference semifinals, where it will face No. 31 Catawba.
The Indians come into the semifinal match after sweeping Limestone. C-N and Catawba squared off earlier in the spring in Salisbury, and the Indians won 5-2.
Last time around, the matches were tightly contested, with three of the singles matches going to three sets. In those three matches, C-N came out on top in just one. Despite Catawba taking all three doubles matches, the decisions came by no more than three games.
It'll be another tight battle between two of the South Atlantic Conference's best, with a trip to the SAC Championship match on the line. The Eagles and the Indians will take the court tomorrow at 1 PM in Sumter, South Carolina.
