Eagles set for Knoxville Racquet Club finale against Bulldogs
For the final time this season, Carson-Newman men’s tennis will take the short trip to Knoxville for a non-conference match against NAIA member Tennessee Wesleyan.
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – For the final time this season, Carson-Newman men's tennis will take the short trip to Knoxville for a non-conference match against NAIA member Tennessee Wesleyan.
C-N is 4-0 in matches played at the Knoxville Racquet Club this season and will be pitted against a Bulldogs (3-1) squad that is No. 11 in the most recent coaches poll voted on by NAIA coaches.
For the Eagles (4-1), last Friday against Division I Austin Peay served as the first loss on the season after the team's best start to a campaign in the modern era. With a team filled with underclassmen and lead by senior captain Gabriel Dabdab (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), head coach Jim Frederick said that his team has the makeup and the attitude needed to bounce back Saturday.
"The one thing that has changed from the team last year is the competitive fire of the freshmen," Frederick said. "That's what has changed…Their competitiveness is huge, and I think that drives them…I'm not saying that they like losing, but these guys hate losing more than they like winning. That's pretty evident, and we'll keep recruiting players like that."
In singles play, freshmen are a combined 13-4 in dual-match play this season. Add in first-year player and graduate student Julian Froehlich (Kobenz, Austria) and that number jumps to 17-5.
Friday's match against the Govs also saw the Eagles win the doubles point to open the match. Moving forward, the pairings of Dabdab and Hugo Castets (Gradigan, France); Marc Janse (Zeewolde, Netherlands) and Rintaro Oka (Narita, Japan) and Ids Waterbolk (Bennekom, Netherlands) and Froehlich will be locked in for the foreseeable future.
For the Bulldogs, a 7-0 win over SAC member Mars Hill in the fall serves as the only Division II opponent that the team has faced this season. The team's remaining pair of victories come against Division III foes in Covenant College and Sewanee.
All time in the series, C-N is 0-6 against Tennessee Wesleyan with match play dating back to 2014. Last year's tilt, a 5-2 loss for the Eagles, came on Feb. 28.
Opening serve is set for 2 p.m. Saturday.
