VIDEO: Kody DuBarry Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. -- Carson- Newman rounded out day two of its initial home tournament with a 5-0 sweep at the hands of Austin Peay State University on Saturday afternoon under rainy clouds at the Carson-Newman sand courts.
The Eagles (0-3) now stand at 0-2 in the all-time series record against the Governors (5-8).
"Obviously, today, you want to win some sets and stuff and you want to go but it is what it is," head coach Kody DuBarry said. "Our girls went out and competed in tough, tough, tough conditions: rain, cold, obviously not what you want to play in, but our girls walked out and said, 'Cool. It's not cold. We're going to rock. We're going to play,' so that was awesome."
The No. 6 extension pairing of Catherine Cook (Morristown, Tenn.) and Lexy Headly (Sharps Chapel, Tenn.) stumbled away from a win against the Governors' duo of Nina Korfhage and Cori Theiss in straight-sets, 21-7 and 21-11.
The fifth-seeded pairing of Gabrielle Bailey (Pompano Beach, Fla.) and Micah Palmer (White Pine, Tenn.) faced Chloe Stitt and Kaylee Taff. Austin Peay's duo brought long offensive runs in the first set with a 21-15 win that carried over in the second set, downing the C-N pair, 21-6.
The No. 4 position saw Micah Depetro (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Abby Struewing (Lebanon, Ohio) falling in consecutive sets to Ashley Slay and Coir Theiss, 21-11, 21-12.
The pairing of Summer Coulter (El Paso, Texas) and Lauren Williams (Carrollton, Ga.) played at the No. 3 seed. The two handed over the match to Austin Peay's Haley Turner and Jenna Panning 21-15, 21-6 to give the Governors the win on the day.
The fight would not stop there for DuBarry's bunch.
Moving into the second-seed for the Eagles to face the APSU tandem of Brooke Moore and Caroline Waite, Aryana Fazelnia (Weston, Fla.) and Montgomery Sauter (Columbia, S.C.) looked to keep their winning streak alive after coming up victorious at the three-spot a day prior. Both sides stayed engaged throughout the entire match; however, despite their efforts, Fazelnia and Sauter were unable to seek a win, falling just short at 21-18, 22-20.
At the No. 1 seed sat Morgan Harlan (Ladara Ranch, Calif.) and Kelly Hughes (Woodbridge, Va.). The two gave up the first set to Ginny Gerig and Cecily Gable, 21-10. The second set was a dogfight on both sides of the net as each team tied at the winning point on several occasions. Harlan and Hughes let a substantial lead fall out of their grasp as the Governors' pair battled back to take a 24-22 final victory.
"They know that they're not going to let the game end," DuBarry assessed. "The dual was over, it was over. (Austin Peay) won the first three sets, but Morgan and Kelly battled all the way to the last point, so it doesn't matter if the dual is over. We're going to compete well.
"That's awesome for me as a coach to see because, like, sweet, we're battling, we're growing, we're going, we're getting better. So, I'm happy about that. Happy to see everybody today battle, and even though it's like, 'Hey, this isn't going to turn out the way that we want it today, but we're going to battle and we're going to fight and we're going to get better."
Carson-Newman now prepares for another two-day tournament, this time taking the Eagles to Wilmington, N.C. for the UNC-Wilmington Tournament. Their time there will kick off Friday at 11:30 a.m. against the hosting Seahawks.
