Full week for men’s tennis includes first conference opponents and two ranked teams
Carson-Newman Men’s Tennis lines up against three challenging opponents. They will kick off the week with their SAC opener in Lenoir-Rhyne and then compete against #11 North Georgia and #8 Catawba.
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman Men's Tennis lines up against three challenging opponents. They will kick off the week with their SAC opener in Lenoir-Rhyne and then compete against #11 North Georgia and #8 Catawba.
The opening non-conference start of the schedule has been challenging for the men, who are 1-4 on the year thus far. February 28th will mark the Eagles conference opener with Lenoir-Rhyne.
"For the guys, I'm looking for growth in level. Being so young and getting a lot of matches before conference was something I did on purpose to get us ready for conference because we're so good," said head coach Nate Gangelhoff.
The Bears are already 2-0 on the season wins over Francis Marion and fellow SAC opponent Anderson. Lenoir-Rhyne was projected 5th in the SAC preseason poll, just one spot (11 points) below C-N.
"LR got a lot better, in comparison to last year especially," said Gangelhoff. "I think the conference underrated them at the start, and now, from the matches they've played so far, they're showing their strength."
Carson-Newman fell to L-R last season at home in a narrow 3-4 loss. This season, the Bears have a regionally ranked doubles team in Vitor Ferreira and Vadym Rogynskyi. They slot in at 10 in the Southeast region standings.
The Eagles are 11-5 all-time against the Bears, but are 5-5 in the last 10 matches played. The last time Carson-Newman beat the Bears in their own barn was back in the 2022-23 season when they took a 7-0 win.
Two days later, the Eagles will travel down to Dahlonega to face off with #11 North Georgia. This will be a formidable out-of-conference opponent for C-N, and the first of four opportunities the Eagles will have to face a ranked opponent this season.
The Nighthawks are 4-0 this season and will host Lincoln Memorial the day before C-N. No team has taken more than two points off UNG, and the team certainly has the ranking to support its prowess.
The biggest challenge? The number one singles player in the Southeast region Pedro Liborio. He will almost certainly be slated in against C-N's #1 Louis Keenan who is 1-1 in his singles matches this season. The sophomore has a phenomenal opportunity this week to put some signature wins on his resume.
"He has exceeded my expectations thus far for season. I think him being pushed up to 1 has matured him a little bit, and he is taking his game a little more seriously," said Gangelhoff.
Other than that, C-N will have to tango with the pairing of Liborio and Janos Varga, who are eighth in the region, plus the #14 singles player in the region Joao Luis Silva. Carson-Newman will be looking to break a 14 match losing streak against eh Nighthawks and collect the first all-time series win.
To round out the third match in the next six days for the Eagles, Carson-Newman will travel to their third road contest to face #8 Catawba. The Catawba Indians are the reigning SAC champions and bolster a roster full of regionally and nationally ranked doubles teams and singles players.
Max Stollecker and Louis Keenan have been paired together at first doubles all season and have seen success, going 3-1 to start the year. The doubles success seems to be translating into Stollecker's singles matches. The sophomore is 3-0 in his solo matches.
"With North Georgia and Catawba being so highly ranked, if we can steal some wins, then I think it boosts our confidence for the rest of the conference matches," said Gangelhoff. I think it essentially sends a message to our players and to the rest of the conference that we can steal some wins from you, too."
The only team that Catawba has faced this season, they defeated 6-1. Before the Catawba Indians host C-N, they will face West Virginia Wesleyan and Lander. The Eagles are 6-9 in the 15 all-time matches they've played. The last win for C-N came on March 4, 2023. Last season, the Eagles lost 0-4 in Jefferson City.
Carson-Newman will see the second-best doubles team in the region and the 7th best in Division II when they face Agustin Masti and Luca Bergonzi. Masti is also the #5 player in the region, and teammate Santiago Passoni is not far behind him at #13.
"As good as Catawba is, there's some holes here and there at their lower end of the lineup where I would love for our guys to step up and say, 'Hey, we can take some sets off of these guys and let's see if we can build our confidence there,'" said Gangelhoff.
With freshman Yassin Ali and captain Leo Baecker looking to return to the lineup back in the lineup, Carson-Newman hopes to present a healthier, more challenging front this week in their conference opener.
The Eagles first serve with Lenoir-Rhyne is scheduled for 11:00 AM in Hickory, NC. For updates, follow @CN_Eagles on X and Instagram, or check cneagles.com for full coverage.
Team Stats
| Game Statistics | Carson-Newman | Lenoir-Rhyne | Score | 0 | 4 |
|---|
-
Vitor Ferreira / Vadym Rogynskyi def. Louis Keenan / Max Stollecker 6-2
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Lucas Galy / Paul Daniel Meyer def. Yassin Ali / Leonard Baecker FINAL - UNFINISHED
-
Samuil Sivinov / Elijah Blackshaw def. Darko Kolevski / Giancarlo Rosario 6-2
-
Vitor Ferreira def. Louis Keenan 6-1 , 6-1
-
Paul Daniel Meyer def. Max Stollecker FINAL - UNFINISHED
-
Vadym Rogynskyi def. Darko Kolevski FINAL - UNFINISHED
-
Elijah Blackshaw def. Yassin Ali FINAL - UNFINISHED
-
Samuil Sivinov def. Giancarlo Rosario 6-1 , 6-3
-
Zeno Godi def. Wade Donovan 6-2 , 6-1
| Game Statistics | Carson-Newman | #11 North Georgia | Score | 0 | 7 |
|---|
-
No player / Pedro Liborio def. Louis Keenan / Max Stollecker 6-1
-
Joao Silva / Ben Brandl def. Leonard Baecker / Yassin Ali 4-2
-
No player / Franco Rebora def. Wade Donovan / Giancarlo Rosario 6-2
-
No player / No player def. No player / No player FINAL - UNFINISHED
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No player / No player def. No player / No player FINAL - UNFINISHED
-
No player / No player def. No player / No player FINAL - UNFINISHED
-
Pedro Liborio def. Louis Keenan 6-4 , 6-2
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Marcos Castellanos def. Max Stollecker 3-6 , 6-2 , 6-4
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Franco Rebora def. Yassin Ali 6-2 , 7-6
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Juan Cruz Blanco def. Giancarlo Rosario 6-1 , 6-1
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Lleyton Beasley def. Wade Donovan 6-2 , 7-5
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Eliseo Alcalde def. Boris Jordanov 6-2 , 6-0
-
No player def. No player FINAL - UNFINISHED
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No player def. No player FINAL - UNFINISHED
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No player def. No player FINAL - UNFINISHED
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No player def. No player FINAL - UNFINISHED
| Game Statistics | Carson-Newman | #8 Catawba | Score | 0 | 4 |
|---|
-
Agustin Mastri / Luca Bergonzi def. Louis Keenan / Max Stollecker 6-2
-
Santiago Passoni / Alen Bill def. Yassin Ali / Leonard Baecker FINAL - UNFINISHED
-
Mateo Berne / Alessandro Valletta def. Wade Donovan / Giancarlo Rosario 6-0
-
Agustin Mastri def. Louis Keenan 6-4 , 6-4
-
Santiago Passoni def. Max Stollecker FINAL - UNFINISHED
-
Mateo Berne def. Leonard Baecker FINAL - UNFINISHED
-
Luca Bergonzi def. Yassin Ali FINAL - UNFINISHED
-
Ryosuke Inagawa def. Giancarlo Rosario 6-4 , 6-0
-
Alessandro Valletta def. Wade Donovan 6-3 , 6-2
