Eagles and Wolves set to battle Saturday

 

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – For the first time in the 2020 campaign, Carson-Newman heads on its first South Atlantic Conference road trip, paying a visit to Newberry for a Saturday afternoon outing.

Carson-Newman (4-3, 0-1 SAC) heads into the match looking to get back on the right track after a 7-0 shutout at the hands of No. 11 Wingate on Wednesday at the Buddy Catlett Tennis Complex. The loss marked the first shutout C-N has faced since a 6-0 loss to the Bulldogs on April 13, 2019 when Wingate left Jefferson City with a 6-0 victory. That match was held to just singles action due to inclement weather surrounding the Lakeway Region.

Coach Jim Frederick's group will need a win to avoid the first 0-2 start to the league schedule since 2018 when it went 0-3 through the start of the SAC slate.

The Eagles have only played in one other road contest this season. They fell at Austin Peay on February 14 in a 6-1 decision. The only point for C-N in that meeting came at the No. 6 singles spot with Alisa Liashova (Ukraine) winning in straight-sets, 6-3 and 6-2. The senior leads C-N at that spot this season, holding a 4-1 record. She and Ana Carla Resende (Minas Gerais, Brazil) still possess the best records on the season, both sitting at 4-2 overall.

Newberry (14-2, 1-1 SAC) heads into the match following four matches in three days at Hilton Head, splitting matches against Florida Southern and Tiffin while also competing against Mount St. Mary's and Warner.

So far, head coach Mark Gardiner's crew has gone 1-1 when playing on its home court this season, defeating Emmanuel, 7-0, and falling to Tusculum, 5-2. The Wolves have not played at home since that Tusculum match on February 15.

Of their 16 matches on the season, the Wolves have won 11 by at least three points. In that stretch, six have been shutout victories.

In the last 10 meetings with Newberry, C-N holds a 4-6 record. Last year's tussle between the two sides resulted in an Orange and Blue victory on the banks of Mossy Creek. The Eagles swept doubles action for the opening point before winning all of the singles matches outside of the No. 2 flight where Ali Harris fell to Frederike Klein, 6-3 and 7-6 (10-4).

Carson-Newman is 1-4 when playing at Newberry in the past decade. That lone win came on March 27, 2010 in a 9-0 shutout.

First serve from the Oakland Tennis Center on the campus of Newberry College is slated for 2 p.m.