KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Saturday saw Carson-Newman women's tennis in a pair of highly-competitive nonconference contests as the Eagles looked to put a bow on their early nonconference slate in 2022.
The Eagles (5-2, 0-0 SAC) faced off with the Belmont Abbey Crusaders (2-8, 0-0 CC) and the Lee Flames (2-3, 0-0 GSC) Saturday from the Knoxville Racquet Club. It would be C-N taking home a 7-0 clean sweep of the Crusaders before overcoming Lee in the nightcap, 4-3.
Game One: CARSON-NEWMAN 7, Belmont Abbey 0
Saturday marked the second consecutive clean sweep of Belmont Abbey by C-N after the Eagles dominated action from start to finish in February 2021
The match saw Carson-Newman sweep doubles play from top to bottom as the order of finish went number two, one, and then three. In number two doubles, the pairing of Ana Carla Resende (Minas Gerais, Brazil) and Summer Reeves (Maidstone, Kent, England) got C-N on the board with a dominant 6-1 win over BAC's Daniella Galeano and Paola Soccarras.
Then, in number one doubles, C-N clinched the doubles point after Hannah Price (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Natasha Forrest (Jersey, United Kingdom) took down the pairing of Kayla Vaughan and Lily Aranyos, 6-3.
Finally, number three doubles was Julia Speiser and Maria Ulloa (Cuba) facing off with Belmont Abbey's Anna Steiner and Hannah Farmer. After coming out strong, the Eagles wrapped up a clean sweep of all three doubles after Speiser and Ulloa came out on top, 6-3.
As singles play started, the Eagles had no trouble continuing their momentum and winning every single matchup by a comfortable margin, as every match ended in the two-set minimum.
The first singles match to go final Saturday against the Crusaders was number six singles involving Maria Ulloa. The C-N freshman has been one of the highlights as C-N women's tennis has built a steady winning pace recently. The Cuba native would face BAC's Hannah Farmer on Saturday, taking the 6-0, 6-0 win as she doubled C-N's lead to 2-0.
From there, it was one of the most experienced and highly known CNWT athletes who kept the winning ways alive from number four singles. Graduate student Hannah Price has been playing number four singles in the last four matches as she looked utterly dominant on Saturday as she only dropped one game to BAC's Lily Aranyos. The Knoxville native secured the hometown win, pushing C-N ahead 3-0, as she would win 6-1, 6-0.
Moving up in place of Violetta Khisamova, Resende's double partner in Summer Reeves was in action from number two singles Saturday afternoon. After fighting for a close 6-4 first set win, Reeves responded promptly as she would take the overall win with a 6-3 victory in set two and pushing C-N ahead 4-0.
Ana Carla Resende has been on a tear in 2022 after losing her first match of the season against North Georgia. Since losing to the Nighthawks, Resende has now won five straight matches and sits as 5-1 from number one singles. This moves her C-N career win total over half a century as she now holds 51 career wins, five more than the athlete with second-most (teammate Hannah Price).
Saturday saw Resende be very consistent as she took home a 6-2, 6-2 win over BAC's Kayla Vaughan. Now, Resende will look to prove her nomination as one of the SAC's preseason first-team singles member as she still stands as one of the ITA's top singles players in DII women's tennis.
Soon after, Natasha Forrest kept the two-set sweeps rolling for C-N as she won yet again in 2022. As she has been moved up to number three singles, the England native pulled out a 6-1, 6-1 victory as she made it 6-0 in favor of the Eagles. Finally, the match came to a close with Anita Chornei compiling another victory for the Eagles as she was victorious 6-0, 6-1 while playing number five singles.
Game Two: CARSON-NEWMAN 4, Lee 3
In the nightcap, it was the Eagles getting off to a hot start as they once again took all three doubles matches and an early 1-0 advantage.
Natasha Forrest and Hannah Price played from number one doubles as they were 6-1 victors over Lee's Simes and Ujdur. Then, in number two doubles, Ana Carla Resende and Summer Reeves kept things rolling as they won 6-1 over Maiz and Kirr for the Flames. Finally, number three doubles saw C-N's Violetta Khisamova and Julia Speiser wrap things up with a 6-2 victory over Trammell and Donaldson of Lee.
In singles, it was the even numbered matches which fell in favor of C-N. In number two singles, Summer Reeves met the two-set minimum as she defeated Lee's Kirr by a final of 6-4, 6-4.
Things kept rolling as C-N saw Hannah Price continue her winning ways on Saturday with a 6-2, 6-4 win from number four singles as the Eagles needed one more point to clinch the overall victory.
The final singles win for C-N came from number six singles and Anita Chornei. Chornei, playing against Lee's Donaldson, was almost perfect as she dropped two games overall in a 6-1, 6-1 win as she helped C-N secure their third straight win of the spring as SAC play awaits the Eagles next weekend.
Unfortunately, Ana Carla Resende was given a setback as she was handed her first singles loss since North Georgia as a 7-6, 4-6, 7-6 result fell in favor of Lee's Simej. The Brazil native will look to rebound next weekend as she and the Eagles host a pair of SAC opponents to open up conference play at home.
The Eagles now turn their attention to the start of SAC play next weekend as the Coker Cobras and Limestone Saints come to Mossy Creek for matches on Friday and Saturday. First serve is set for 2:00 p.m. Friday while Saturday gets started at 1:30 p.m. from the Buddy Catlett Tennis Complex in Jefferson City.
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