#8 Catawba sweeps men’s tennis
The Eagles pushed Catawba throughout the match, but did not find consistency against the ranked Catawba Indians.
SALISBURY, N.C. – The Eagles pushed Catawba throughout the match, but did not find consistency against the ranked Catawba Indians.
"This was by far out best effort. Team energy, focus, level of play," said head coach Nate Gangelhoff. "The best teams and players force you to do that. I've challenged our guys to not just keep it but make it even better moving forward."
With the loss, the Eagles drop to 1-7 on the season and 0-2 in conference play.
In doubles, the Eagles lost at the first and third lines. Louis Keenan and Max Stollecker fell in a 6-2 decision and Wade Donovan and Giancarlo Rosario lost in straight games. At second doubles, the pair of Leonard Baecker and Yassin Ali were tied 4-4 when Catawba took the doubles point.
In singles, the Eagles were resilient, taking games from #8 Catawba at every line. Three of the six singles matches went unfinished, but were tight matches.
At first singles, Louis Keenan battled to a 6-4, 6-4 loss to the #5 player in the Southeast region Agustin Masti. At second singles, his doubles partner Max Stollecker was one of the singles lines that went unfinished. Stollecker took a huge 6-3 first set win and was down just 6-5 in set two.
Leo Baecker slotted in at third singles and pushed Mateo Berne. The captain went down fighting 7-5 in set one and was only back one game in set two before the match was clinched.
At fourth singles, Yassin Ali settled in well after doubles, taking down Luca Bergonzi 6-4 in set one. Ali had lost 6-2 in set two and was headed to a third frame when the match was cut short.
At fifth singles, Giancarlo Rosario dropped the line with scores of 6-4, 6-0. Rounding out the lineup, Wade Donovan took three games off of Alesandro Valletta, but lost 6-1, 6-2.
"We have to believe we can now win more matches ahead of us with this experience under our belt," said Gangelhoff.
The Eagles fall to 6-10 all-time against Catawba, and finalize their final road dual of a three-match stretch. C-N will look to snap a five-match losing streak when they return home to battle UVA Wise on March 11, 2026. For updates, follow @CN_Eagles on X and Instagram, or check cneagles.com for full coverage.
