JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – The Carson-Newman women's tennis team ended the 2017 regular season with a 6-3 loss to Queens on Friday afternoon.
"We started out strong today in doubles play," Carson-Newman assistant coach Austin Mackay said. "The women were just unable to carry the momentum from doubles into singles play, but overall they stayed competitive throughout the match."
Carson-Newman () took an early 2-1 lead over Queens () after doubles play was complete on Friday afternoon. No. 1 doubles tandem of Ali Harris (Crossville, Tenn.) and Jill Corsato-Owsianka (Germany) defeated the duo of Carlotta Nassi and Marat Gonzalez 8-6. Corsato-Owsianka and Harris are now 8-7 overall on the year and finish the regular season with a 7-4 conference record.
The No. 2 doubles team of Alisa Liashova (Ukraine) and Klara Vuckovic (Germany) found a way to win their second consecutive match. The duo defeated Hannah Lehfeldt and Claire Hamilton 8-6 to give the Eagles their second point in doubles play. The pairing of Liashova and Vuckovic now have an overall record of 12-3 and a conference record of 9-2.
Rounding out doubles play was the duo of Sydney Ledington (Corbin, Ky.) and Lindy Tatum (Henderson, Tenn.). The pairing was unable to put a point on the board, as they were shutout 8-0 by Ana Bolson and Jaclyn Rock. Ledington and Tatum finish the regular season with a 4-11 record and 4-7 SAC record.
Corsato-Owsianka was the first Eagle to finish her singles round on Friday. The junior defeated Melissa Laing in straight sets 6-4, 6-2. The native of Germany finish the regular season 10-7 and 7-4 in conference play. Since moving down to the No.3 singles position, Corsato-Owsianka has compiled a 7-2 record.
Liashova was the second singles player to finish for the Eagles. The freshman lost in straight sets 6-2, 6-2 to Marta Gonzalez. The native of Ukraine is now 7-10 on the year and finishes the regular season 5-6 in conference play.
Queens tied the match up at 3-3 with a victory at No. 1 singles. Harris lost the first set 6-4, but battled back in the second to win 7-5. In a winner take-all third set Harris fell 6-2 to Nassi. The sophomore is 6-11 on the season and 5-6 in conference play this year.
Vuckovic was unable to generate offense during her singles match falling 6-1, 6-1 to Caroline Nielsen at No. 4 singles. The loss gave Queens a 4-3 lead heading into the final two singles matches. Vuckovic has had a solid freshman season so far, the loss drops her to 8-9 overall on the year, but the German native is still 7-4 in conference play.
In the No. 5 singles competition Tatum found herself in a battle with Lehfeldt for a crucial match point. Tatum lost in straight sets 7-5, 6-4 giving Queens the fifth and game clinching point of the match. Tatum finished the regular season with an 8-11 overall record and a 6-5 conference record.
The final singles match of the day was played between Ledington and Isabel Fornies. Ledington held strong in the first set losing 6-4, but the sophomore was unable to generate momentum in the second set falling 6-1. Ledington saw a four match winning streak come to a close on Friday afternoon. The Kentucky native finishes the regular season 8-9 and 5-6 in conference play.
The Eagles have locked up the No. 5 seed in the South Atlantic Conference Tournament and will play in the quarterfinals match on April 20, at 1 p.m. in Rock Hill, S.C.
