FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Carson-Newman wrapped up its first weekend of the season in dominating fashion, grabbing a pair of winning duals in Saturday's finale over hosting Principia and Stevenson at the Beach Bash.
With the two wins, Carson-Newman (3-0) is now off to its best start in program history. This is also the first time the Eagles have swept an event since April 2016 when they won all four contests at the Stevenson Tournament. That run also stands as the longest winning streak for the program.
The morning affair with Principia (0-3) resulted in a 5-0 sweep for the Eagles before defeating Stevenson 3-2 in the afternoon.
C-N worked to keep the wheels rolling on the weekend, using all of its same pairings from the first day in both of Saturday's matchups.
DUAL ONE: Carson-Newman 5, Principia 0
All but one of the games Carson-Newman faced in the opening dual of the day were decided in straight sets. The top-flight match came with the only three-set game. Summer Coulter (El Paso, Texas) and Megan Oldenburger (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) fell in the first set to Hayden Warner and Devon Marunde, 21-16. The pair used back-to-back sets to seal the win, 21-15 and 15-11.
Lindsey Geurin (Clearwater Beach, Fla.) and Maddison Bishop (Olathe, Kan.) had the most substantial set victories for C-N at the No. 2 spot. They defeated Sophia Hathaway and Victoria Vandriver 21-7 and 21-6.
The No. 3 pair of Abby Struewing (Lebanon, Ohio) and Mia Toribio (Spring, Texas) excelled over Sarah Ungerleider and Mesa Goebel, 21-14 and 21-16.
Morgan Siwiec (Toms River, N.J.) and Joy Rhodes (Youngsville, N.C.) won the fourth-flight over Viviane de Castro and Kiona Sperr, 21-5 and 21-9.
Picking up their first win of the season at the No. 5 level, Kelly Hughes (Woodbridge, Va.) and Hayden Barton (Hixson, Tenn.) also kept Lindsey Huffman and Caroline Bumbaugh from double-digit scoring, 21-9 and 21-7.
DUAL TWO: Carson-Newman 3, Stevenson 2
Each of the five matches in the afternoon dual was decided in three-set outings.
C-N clinched the win at the No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 spots, each of those in comeback fashion with the Mustangs winning the first set in all three.
Struewing and Toribio fell in the first set, 21-18, before bouncing back over Darian Hileman and Emily Pellini with 21-13 and 15-11 wins.
Grace Chaffee and Lizi Cudal held a 21-19 win over Siwiec and Rhodes to open the fourth-flight. The C-N pair forced a third set with a 21-12 win before closing the book with a 15-6 final set.
Hughes and Barton had to work back into the fifth-flight after Taylor Jones and Kayla Vaeth won the first set, 21-10. The Orange and Blue duo battled back with a 21-16 second set before delving into a third-set that needed extra points, winning with an 18-16 margin.
At the No. 2 spot, Bishop and Geurin lost the first set in a close 21-19 result but forced a third-set with a 21-15 decision in the second. Despite keeping in close, the Eagles' pair fell in the final set, 15-13.
Oldenburger and Coulter jumped out to a lead in the first-seeded flight with a 21-15 win but Stevenson's Katie Leftridge and Shannon Bailey won the remaining sets, 21-17 and 15-6.
Carson-Newman hits the road again on March 6 for LaGrange, Ga. for a four-dual affair with LaGrange, Lincoln Memorial and Huntingdon.
