KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – For the second consecutive match in as many days, it was Carson-Newman women's tennis absolutely throttling their opponent as the Eagles sweep the Lees-McRae Bobcats (0-4, 0-0 CC) and have now won two straight in 2022. After sweeping Young Harris on Friday, C-N kept their momentum rolling as they went out and did not drop a single result to LMC, winning 7-0 from the Knoxville Racquet Club.
The Eagles (2-1, 0-0 SAC), in their win, also saw all their athletes continue their own individual hot streaks. Prior to Saturday, the last time C-N faced LMC in action came nearly 11 years to the date as the Eagles defeated Lees-McRae 8-1 in March 2011. On that day, C-N got off to a fast start by sweeping the doubles matches, and then won five of the six singles matches to secure the victory. The Eagles were led by senior Taryn Cappadona, who recorded wins at no. 1 doubles with Stefy Stand and no. 2 singles.
The afternoon got started off with doubles action as the Eagles looked to leave no doubt to start off the action and gain the early 1-0 advantage. Well, much like Friday, it was a clean doubles sweep for C-N as the Eagles only dropped seven games in all three matches combined.
The first match to go final between C-N and Lees-McRae would be from number three doubles as Violetta Khisamova (Yaroslavl, Russia) and Julia Speiser handled business and took a demanding 6-1 result to give C-N the early edge.
Then, in number one doubles, graduate student Hannah Price (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Natasha Forrest (Jersey, United Kingdom) keep the winning train moving as they picked up their second straight 6-3 victory, thus claiming the doubles point for the Eagles.
However, just to make sure there was no doubt, Ana Carla Resende (Minas Gerais, Brazil) would see a new face joining her at number two doubles. For the first time in 2022, Summer Reeves (Maidstone, Kent, England) made her spring debut as she and Resende pulled out the 6-3 result and helped C-N sweep doubles.
"Doubles were strong once again for the girls as they almost looked identical to yesterday's performance," graduate coach Gabriel Dabdab said.
As singles play started, the Eagles had no trouble continuing their momentum and winning every single matchup as four of the six matches only saw the minimum two sets to be decided.
First, perhaps the hottest Eagle so far this season wrapped up action as Natasha Forrest (Jersey, United Kingdom) was not wasting time as she pulled out a 6-0, 6-1 result. This result moves Forrest to 3-0 in the early stages of the spring season, lending her the top mark on the team as no other Eagle has won more than twice so far.
Then, Violetta Khisamova looked to build upon a solid outing on Friday against YHC with a similar result Saturday night. The sophomore would see a tough matchup from number two singles but was able to pull away late and hand herself a 6-4, 7-5 victory and move C- N ahead 3-0.
Following up Khisamova in match conclusion would be one of the two three-set thrillers that took place from the Knoxville Racquet Club. Julia Speiser was in action from number six singles as she claimed her second straight singles win by a final of 5-7, 6-1, 6-2.
"After a rough start, Julia dominated the girls in the last two sets," Dabdab said.
Ana Carla Resende, the number eight women's singles player in DII tennis, is starting to find her groove once more. After dropping a shocker to North Georgia to open the season, Resende has responded with two straight no-doubt victories from her usual number one singles placement. Saturday saw the Brazil native only drop three games in a 6-2, 6-1 victory. Resende has claimed and continues to build upon her CNWT legacy as she now sits with 48 career wins in her Eagles career,, three more than any other current or former Eagle athlete.
Then, Anita Chornei compiled another victory for the Eagles as she was victorious 6-4, 6-1 while playing number five singles.
For the second straight match, Hannah Price would have to battle for every last moment in her number three singles match as she yet again pulled out the victory to secure the clean sweep for C-N. Saturday saw the Knoxville native win the first set 6-4 before dropping the second set 1-6. From there, it was no doubt who would be the winner as Price took the deciding third set 10-2.
Carson-Newman women's tennis will take to the courts next week for two matches in three days. The Eagles will first hit the road for a matchup against Sewanee on Thursday, Feb. 17 before hosting the UT Martin Skyhawks next Saturday from the Cedar Bluff Racquet Club in Knoxville.
"We just have to be able to play the same way no matter the level of competition," Dabdab said. "At the same time, when the matches are close, they are able to win proving that we are the better team."
Be sure to keep up with all things Carson-Newman women's tennis at cneagles.com and via all social media accounts.
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