VIDEO: Carson-Newman coach Jim Frederick previews the University of the Cumberlands Tournament
WILLIAMSBURG, KY – The Carson-Newman women's tennis team will travel to the University of the Cumberlands tournament in Williamsburg, Kentucky tomorrow, Saturday, October 5th at 9 a.m.
The team comes off a difficult trip to the International Tennis Association Southeast Regional qualifiers last weekend which saw the squad go 2-4 combined in both singles and doubles play.
Ana Carla Resende (Minas Gerais, Brazil), the 11th ranked player in the region, lost her first-round match as the third seed in the tournament before bouncing back with two dominant wins in the consolation rounds by a combined score of twelve sets to one.
"[Resende] played late at night, we had weather delays, played late at night, she didn't see real well," Carson-Newman coach Jim Frederick said. "Not an excuse, she didn't play very well. But then she came back and won two matches in back draw."
Junior Hannah Price (Knoxville, TN) also suffered a letdown, losing both of her matches in straight sets after she had beaten the 58th-ranked player in the nation, Wingate's Elena Bompiere in her season debut at the Wingate Invitational.
"Hannah played well, not well enough to win and just lost some close matches," Frederick said.
Senior Alisa Liashova (Ukraine) participated in doubles play where she saw a victory alongside Resende. The duo won their first-round match and then lost their second-round contest.
"This is why you play the tournaments in the fall because it gives you an idea of what you've really got to work on," Frederick said.
It will also be the first official event for Klara Vuckovic (Germany) and Abby Reis (Des Moines, Iowa) since they played at the Wingate Invitational on Sept. 7th and 8th.
"Klara's had a hurt shoulder so she's not been able to serve a whole lot so she's been working on her ground strokes," Frederick said. "Abby's been working on her ground stroke top spin and we'll see how it works this weekend."
Other than the University of the Cumberlands, the Eagles will match up with Tennessee Wesleyan and Union College. The tournament is a one day "hidden dual" affair in which the four programs will battle it out in singles and doubles play but no two programs will play a full set of matches against one another that would normally constitute a dual-meet.
"Well the best one is Tennessee Wesleyan and their doubles team just won the NAIA Tournament last week," Frederick said. "So, they're very, very good, we did lose to them in doubles matches last year. They're probably the best."
Be sure to keep up with the Carson-Newman women's tennis team all season across C-N's social media platforms and on cneagles.com.
