-
- Height:
- 6'0
-
- Year:
- Graduate
-
- Hometown:
- Ballyclare, Antrim
-
- High School:
- Belfast Royal Academy
-
- Previous College:
- Tiffin
-
- Singles Wins
- 8
-
- Singles Losses
- 4
-
- Singles Ties
- 6
-
- Doubles Wins
- 6
-
- Doubles Losses
- 10
-
- Doubles Ties
- 2
Bio
2023-24: Played a big role in his first season at C-N, posting a 10-5 record in singles with an 8-3 mark in SAC play, predominantly at the No. 6 spot. Recorded two doubles wins in limited action.
2022-23 (at Tiffin): Saunders went 14-1 in singles play and 3-3 in doubles action.
2021-22 (at Tiffin): Saunders went 0-2 in singles play and played matches in No. 5, and 6 spots.
2020-21 (at Tiffin): Saunders was 3-4 in singles play and 1-3 in doubles action.
PERSONAL: Matt is the son of Neil and Allysoun Saunders and has two sisters.
Recent games
Season Statistics
| Overall | Conference | |
|---|---|---|
| Singles Wins | 8 | 3 |
| Singles Losses | 4 | 2 |
| Singles Ties | 6 | 6 |
| Singles Sets Wins | 25 | 15 |
| Singles Sets Losses | 18 | 14 |
| Singles Games Wins | 448 | 378 |
| Singles Games Losses | 417 | 373 |
| Doubles Wins | 6 | 4 |
| Doubles Losses | 10 | 6 |
| Doubles Ties | 2 | 1 |
| Doubles Sets Wins | 8 | 5 |
| Doubles Sets Losses | 12 | 7 |
| Doubles Games Wins | 257 | 142 |
| Doubles Games Losses | 89 | 58 |
| Date | Opponent | Score | SinglesW | SinglesL | SinglesT | DoublesW | DoublesL | DoublesT | SinglesSetsW | SinglesSetsL | SinglesGamesW | SinglesGamesL | DoublesSetsW | DoublesSetsL | DoublesGamesW | DoublesGamesL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 14 | at LMU Invatational | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Sep 15 | at LMU Invatational | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Sep 19 | at Belmont Abbey Invitational | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Sep 20 | at Belmont Abbey Invitational | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Sep 28 | at ITA Fall Championships | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Sep 29 | at ITA Fall Championships | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Oct 11 | at UTR College Circuit Tournament | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Oct 12 | at UTR College Circuit Tournament | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Oct 25 | at Eagle Invitational | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Oct 26 | at Eagle Invitational | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Feb 8 | vs. Young Harris | W, 4-1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Feb 22 | Union (Ky.) | W, 4-3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Feb 25 | at Lee | L, 6-1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| Mar 8 | at Limestone | W, 4-2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| Mar 11 | at No. 44 Virginia-Wise | W, 4-1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 104 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 5 |
| Mar 13 | No. 39 Lenoir-Rhyne | L, 4-3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Mar 15 | at Bethel (TN) | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Mar 18 | No. 21 Purdue Northwest | L, 4-2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 98 | 5 |
| Mar 19 | Tusculum | W, 4-1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 7 |
| Mar 22 | Coker | W, 4-0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 107 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 5 |
| Mar 25 | Emory & Henry | W, 4-0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 103 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 99 | 5 |
| Mar 29 | at No. 11 Wingate | L, 4-1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 |
| Apr 2 | at No. 27 Lincoln Memorial | L, 4-1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 100 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Apr 4 | Johnson (TN) | W, 5-2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| Apr 7 | King (Tenn.) | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Apr 8 | Mars Hill | W, 5-0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| Apr 9 | No. 12 Catawba | L, 4-0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 99 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| Apr 11 | at Anderson (S.C.) | L, 4-0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 102 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| Apr 12 | at Newberry | W, 4-1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 |
| Apr 16 | vs. No. 25 Lincoln Memorial | W, 4-1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| Apr 17 | vs. No. 10 Wingate | L, 4-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| gp | SinglesW | SinglesL | SinglesT | DoublesW | DoublesL | DoublesT | SinglesSetsW | SinglesSetsL | SinglesGamesW | SinglesGamesL | DoublesSetsW | DoublesSetsL | DoublesGamesW | DoublesGamesL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 18 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 25 | 18 | 448 | 417 | 8 | 12 | 257 | 89 |
| Total | 18 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 25 | 18 | 448 | 417 | 8 | 12 | 257 | 89 |
| gp | SinglesW | SinglesL | SinglesT | DoublesW | DoublesL | DoublesT | SinglesSetsW | SinglesSetsL | SinglesGamesW | SinglesGamesL | DoublesSetsW | DoublesSetsL | DoublesGamesW | DoublesGamesL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | |||||||||||||||
| Total | 18 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 25 | 18 | 448 | 417 | 8 | 12 | 257 | 89 |
| Conference | 11 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 14 | 378 | 373 | 5 | 7 | 142 | 58 |
| Exhibition | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Location | |||||||||||||||
| Home | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 5 | 364 | 53 | 5 | 5 | 226 | 36 |
| Away | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 53 | 344 | 3 | 4 | 27 | 35 |
| Neutral | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 31 | 20 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 18 |
| Result | |||||||||||||||
| Wins | 11 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 21 | 6 | 311 | 162 | 6 | 6 | 146 | 51 |
| Losses | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 137 | 255 | 2 | 6 | 111 | 38 |
| Month | |||||||||||||||
| February | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 36 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 13 |
| March | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 8 | 255 | 155 | 5 | 4 | 226 | 36 |
| April | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 10 | 157 | 246 | 2 | 6 | 23 | 40 |
News mentions
The slipper no longer fits for Cinderella Carson-Newman at the SAC Men’s Tennis Tournament.
Carson-Newman Men’s Tennis entered the South Atlantic Conference Tournament as the six seed, and is still dancing after an upset of the three seed on Wednesday afternoon.
Carson-Newman Men’s Tennis ended the regular season on a high note with a 4-1 defeat of Newberry.
Carson-Newman Men’s Tennis fell in its penultimate contest on the road against Anderson.
Carson-Newman (9-6, 6-4 SAC) dropped its home regular season finale 4-0 to #12 Catawba (16-2, 11-0 SAC) on Wednesday afternoon at the Buddy Catlett Tennis Complex.
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman (9-5, 6-3 South Atlantic Conference) snapped a two-game league losing streak with a 5-0 blitzing of Mars Hill (2-14, 1-10 SAC) Tuesday afternoon on a chilly, blustery day at the Buddy Catlett Tennis Complex.
Carson-Newman Men’s Tennis took a 5-2 victory over Johnson (Tenn.) on senior day.
Carson-Newman won the doubles point for the fourth straight match, but dropped its second straight in a road contest at No. 27 Lincoln Memorial.
Carson-Newman Men’s Tennis put up a fight against its toughest match of the season, but fell 4-1 to No. 11 Wingate.
Carson-Newman Men’s Tennis has just found ways to win in conference play as it kept the good times rolling with a sweep of Emory & Henry on Tuesday afternoon.
Leonard Baecker has been named the South Atlantic Conference’s Men’s Tennis Player of the Week.
Carson-Newman Men’s Tennis has won back-to-back contests to improve to 4-1 in conference play with a sweep of visiting Coker.
Carson-Newman Men’s Tennis accomplished something it had not in nearly 25 years.
For the third-straight match, Carson-Newman faced a ranked team and battled hard with them.
Carson-Newman dropped a heartbreaker in a contest that came down to the final flight, that came down to tiebreakers with Lenoir-Rhyne prevailing.
The Eagles’ Men’s Tennis team improved to 2-0 in conference play with a 4-1 win against nationally-ranked UVA Wise.
C-N collected a conference win over Limestone on Saturday afternoon collecting a large doubles point to propel themselves to a 4-2 win.
Carson-Newman Men’s Tennis returns to the court with a home contest against King (Tenn.) to end the month of February.
Carson-Newman Men’s Tennis took its first loss of the season to an extremely tough Lee squad.
The Eagles defeated Union (Ky.) in its home opener to stay undefeated to open the season through two matches.
Carson-Newman Men’s Tennis began its season with a decisive victory over Conference Carolinas’ Young Harris.
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman men’s tennis team closed out the fall season with a competitive showing against Converse University at the Buddy A. Catlett tennis complex on Friday and Saturday.
SUMTER, S.C. – The Carson-Newman men’s tennis team compiled a handful of impressive performances on day one of the ITA Fall Championships, building considerable momentum for day two.
HARROGATE, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman men’s tennis team kicked off its fall season on Saturday and Sunday, playing in the LMU Invitational and debuting a slew of new talent to start the 2024 fall season.