#24 Wingate works for 4-0 sweep of Eagles
After a near victory in the doubles point, the Eagles did not make it easy for the Bulldogs before they took the sweep.
VIDEO: Nate Gangelhoff Interview
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – After a near victory in the doubles point, the Eagles did not make it easy for the Bulldogs before they took the sweep.
"Hopefully we we learned that this is big boy tennis and if you want to play with the big boys, you have to start doing big boy things and not making silly mistakes, not double faulting several times and your in your matches, not double faulting several times in one game to let these guys just have at it and have easy games," said head coach Nate Gangelhoff. "These guys are extremely good at what they do. A lot of them are experienced. So, they know once they have a hold of you in a certain situation, it's very hard to get them to let go."
At doubles, the only decisive victory for the Bulldogs was at the third line. Wade Donovan and Darko Kolevski won their first game, but fell in straight games after that for a 6-1 decision. Louis Keenan and Max Stollecker were in the second doubles spot and came up huge for the Eagles with a 6-3 victory.
Leonard Baecker and Yassin Ali were challenged with their first doubles match at the one spot, and nearly secured the doubles point against the top-25 Bulldogs. The two pushed Emil Remsted and Martino Colabella to a 5-5 score before falling 7-5.
Then, in singles, the Eagles couldn't hold for long. Wade Donovan fell 6-2 in both sets to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead. Leo Baecker was the next at fourth singles with a 6-3, 6-4 score. Yassin Ali at third singles took games from Emil Remsted, but dropped the match 7-5, 6-4 to give Wingate the win.
At first singles, Louis Keenan and Carlo Rosellini were playing a tightly contested match, Rosellini took set one 6-3, but was down 6-5 to Keenan in the second.
Max Stollecker and Ruben LeBron were tied at a set a piece. Stollecker won set one 7-5 before falling 6-4 in the second. Darko Kolevski was also battling in a third set at fifth singles. The sophomore lost the first set 6-4 before winning the second 6-3. Kolevski was down 2-1 in the final frame before the Bulldogs clinched.
In the all-time series, C-N is 1-18 against the Bulldogs, who have won the last six meetings in a row.
"We have matches that kind are in desperate need of a win in some regard. We have to be able to find those matches and be sure and confident in how we're going to attack those positions," Gangelhoff said. "It's making sure that we're crystal clear on doubles of what is our objective."
The Eagles are now 4-11 on the year and 2-5 in SAC play. Before they return to conference action, the team will host a non-conference match with #23 Lee on Tuesday, March 31 in Jefferson City. First serve between the two is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Coverage is available on cneagles.com or on social media @cneagles.
