February 12, 2026

Back-to-back-to-back matches opens home slate for women’s tennis

Montreat and King will visit the Eagles at the Knoxville Racquet Club before the Eagles will turn around and travel to Harrogate to face Young Harris in a neutral-site match.

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Montreat and King will visit the Eagles at the Knoxville Racquet Club before the Eagles will turn around and travel to Harrogate to face Young Harris in a neutral-site match.

This weekend will serve as the first true test for the Eagles women's tennis team, who just recently opened the season this past Saturday with a 2-5 loss to the University of the Cumberlands. The bright spots for the weekend were the #1 and #2 singles positions for the women, filled by Hala Awad and Sindjia Manovska, who defeated their opponents in tiebreakers to grab their first wins of the season.

To kick off the weekend, C-N will battle with Montreat, who was 4-13 last season. C-N lines up as Montreat's first match of the spring. In the fall, Montreat grabbed a victory over fellow SAC foe Mars Hill in a 4-3 win. For reference, C-N took care of Mars Hill 4-0 last year and returns six of the players who were in that lineup last season.

The Eagles will turn up the heat a little more with King. The Tornado a 1-2 this season with their only win coming in the fall in a 5-2 decision over E&H. The Tornado have already played Lincoln Memorial and Lee this spring and lost 1-6 and 0-7, respectively. C-N is a perfect 6-0 against the Tornado all-time.

This is King's first season back after a one-year hiatus for the program. In the 2023-24 season, the Tornado were 0-17 overall and listed just four players on the roster. This year, they come in with a fully revamped roster that includes four freshmen and two graduate students. ITA lists their team WTN at 28.85.

Young Harris will be the most challenging match this weekend for C-N. The Mountain Lions have only played one match this season against Emory which they dropped 0-7. However, last season, Young Harris made it into the second round of the Conference Carolinas Championship, where they would eventually fall to Barton in a 3-4 decision.

Last season, C-N defeated the Mountain Lions 4-2 at LMU's indoor facility. Three of C-N's singles points came from players who returned to the roster for C-N this year. Despite recent success, the Eagles are 3-6 against Young Harris all time. All three of Carson-Newman's wins have come in the last three years. As a team, Young Harris has a 23.74 WTN, while Carson-Newman registers a 22.93, according to ITA.

First serve between the Cavaliers and the Eagles is scheduled for 6:00 PM at the Knoxville Racquet Club. For updates, follow @CN_Eagles on X and Instagram, or Carson-Newman Athletics on Facebook. Full coverage is also available at cneagles.com.

Team Stats

Game Statistics	Montreat College	Carson-Newman
Score	0	7

Doubles

Kira Baacke / Maria del Mar Sarda def. Clara Roman / Catalina Pan 6-1
Andrea Aguiar / Sindija Manovska def. Yamile Cuiza / Ana Marija Horvacki 6-1
Abinaya Sweeton / Mia Dyer def. No player / No player FINAL - DEFAULT

Singles

Kira Baacke def. Clara Roman 6-1 , 6-2
Mar Fraile def. Catalina Pan 6-0 , 6-0
Sophia Caminiti def. Yamile Cuiza 7-5 , 6-1
Andrea Aguiar def. Ana Marija Horvacki 6-7 , 6-1 , 13-11
Mia Dyer def. Kathryn Salazar 6-0 , 6-0
Abinaya Sweeton def. No player FINAL - DEFAULT

Team Stats

Game Statistics	King (Tenn.)	Carson-Newman
Score	0	4

Doubles

Kira Baacke / Maria del Mar Sarda def. Deniz Aytun / Shelby Tranchita 6-2
Leah McBride / Mar Fraile def. Ruth Robinson / Trinity Moore FINAL - UNFINISHED
Hala Awad / Kerrigan Spiers def. Rani Malhoe / Sarah Hale 6-0