HARROGATE, Tenn. – Carson-Newman Men's Tennis began its season with a decisive victory over Conference Carolinas' Mountain Lions.
Carson-Newman (1-0) defeated Young Harris (0-2) in a neutral site contest in Harrogate, Tenn. at LMU's Indoor Tennis Facility.
The Eagles were paced by strong singles performances in the No. 4 and No. 5 slots with strong victories from Louis Keenan and Matthew Saunders. Due to the tournament-style format, the No. 1 and No. 3 singles went unfinished despite a hefty lead from the Eagles' No. 1 Marnix Van Dalen.
"It took us a bit longer to build our intensity for doubles," Carson-Newman Men's Tennis Head Coach Nathan Gangelhoff said. "But once singles started I felt great about our chances. Very proud of our young freshmen Leo (Baecker) and Louis (Keenan) for their mental toughness in the critical moments and for getting their wins.
Doubles didn't go the way of the Eagles with the only doubles win for C-N coming from the No. 2 pairing of Gjorgji Jankulovski/Louis Keenan.
"We have a lot of areas to improve on but this was a good start to the year," Gangelhoff said.
In singles, Keenan and Saunders held their Mountain Lion opponents to just 11 game wins across four sets, combined between the two individual matches. Van Dalen and Paul Gayk's matches went unfinished after C-N crossed the four-point threshold ending the match.
SINGLES RESULTS
No. 1: Noah Pawirodirjo (YHC) vs. Marnix Van Dalen (C-N) 3-6, 2-5, unfinished
No. 2: Gjorgji Jankulovski (C-N) def. Caleb McCurry (YHC) 6-3, 6-7, 10-4
No. 3: Samuel Guzon (YHC) vs. Paul Gayk (C-N) 7-6, 1-0, unfinished
No. 4: Louis Keenan (C-N) def. Mason Harmon (YHC) 6-2, 6-4
No. 5: Matthew Saunders (C-N) def. Greyson Williams (YHC) 6-2, 6-3
No. 6: Leonard Baecker (C-N) def. Gregor Gottein (YHC) 7-5, 7-6, 10-7
In doubles play, C-N dropped the point but impressed with a 6-0 shutout in the No. 2 doubles slot of Jankulovski/Keenan.
DOUBLES RESULTS
No. 1: Noah Pawirodirjo/Caleb McCurry (YHC) def. Marnix Van Dalen/Paul Gayk (C-N) 6-3
No. 2: Gjorgji Jankulovski/Louis Keenan (C-N) def. Parker Rowan/Greyson Williams (YHC) 6-0
No. 3: Mason Harmon/Gregor Gottein (YHC) def. Matthew Saunders/Leonard Baecker (C-N) 6-1
With the win, head coach Nathan Gangelhoff earns his first win as head coach of the Eagles men's tennis program.
Carson-Newman starts the season with a neutral site victory and returns to action in its first true road match of the season on February 21 at 2:00 p.m. at Bethel (Tenn.) to take on the Wildcats.
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