VIDEO: Jim Frederick Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Following its first South Atlantic Conference win of the season at Newberry, Carson-Newman looks to stay on its winning ways as it hosts three matches in four days with Lincoln Memorial, Delta State and Bluefield coming to visit.
Carson-Newman (5-3, 1-1 SAC) starts the spree on Wednesday afternoon with back-to-back days of play. It has seen just one winning pair of consecutive days of action this season, taking down both Milligan and King in 7-0 sweeps on February 8 and 9.
The Eagles used a pair of doubles victories and a strong outing in singles play to take down the Wolves on Saturday, 5-2. It was their first win at Newberry in nearly a decade.
"Well, the first thing (we have to do) is win the double's point, which we're starting to do," Carson-Newman coach Jim Frederick said. "That's been a cause for concern the whole year and we're starting to do better. When you go into single up one point, it makes a difference, makes everyone relax a little bit more, so we've got to do that."
Ana Carla Resende (Minas Gerias, Brazil) and Alisa Liashova (Ukraine) still lead the Eagles with 5-2 records in singles play after their victories at Newberry at the No. 1 and No. 5 spots, respectively.
Lincoln Memorial (9-2, 1-0) comes to town, still in a four-way tie for the top spot in the SAC standings. The Railsplitters have won six of their last seven matches, including two-straight heading into Wednesday's meeting at C-N. Both of their losses this season have been decided by one point, falling to Augusta on March 1 and Bellarmine on February 9.
Kristin Vogel has been the winningest Railsplitter this season, holding a perfect 10-0 record. Most of her outings have been at the No. 6 position where she is 8-0. Vogel and Samantha Hogan have been dominant in doubles play, going 8-1 when playing together and currently on a four-match winning-streak. They are 8-0 when playing as the No. 3.
Since 2010, C-N is 4-6 against the Railsplitters but holds a 3-2 advantage when hosting. The Eagles won last year's meeting in Harrogate, 4-3, thanks to a doubles sweep and three-set thriller at No. 2 singles play with Ali Harris taking down Julia Valls 4-6, 6-1 and 7-6.
Thursday brings the first-ever meeting between Carson-Newman and Delta State (1-6).
The Lady Statesmen head into the matchup facing a two-match losing skid, falling to West Alabama, 5-2, and Alabama Huntsville, 6-1. The only win the team has seen this season came back on February 23 with a 7-0 sweep of Ouachita Baptist at the Ouachita Baptist Tournament.
None of the Lady Statesmen hold a multiple-match winning streak. On the doubles side, the only tandem to do so is Fabiola Cardenas and Sophie St. Amant. The duo is 3-0 at the second-seeded position. Two of their three wins have come in 6-3 decisions.
Bluefield (1-2) will take on Appalachian Athletic Conference foes Montreat and Union before it heads to Mossy Creek for Saturday's meeting. Much like with Delta State, this will be a new matchup for the Eagles.
The Rams only win thus far in the 2020 campaign came in 5-1 fashion over Columbia on February 28. Before that win, they fell in 7-0 shutout losses to King and Averett.
Wednesday's meeting with Lincoln Memorial is set to start at 2 p.m. from the Buddy Catlett Tennis Complex while Thursday and Saturday's matches hold a 1 p.m. first-serve. Fans can follow live stats for both of the midweek meetings at cneagles.com/livestats.
