C-N Falls to Wingate in SAC Semifinals
The slipper no longer fits for Cinderella Carson-Newman at the SAC Men’s Tennis Tournament.
LINK: Full Results (PDF)
VIDEO: Nathan Gangelhoff Interview
SUMTER, S.C. – The slipper no longer fits for Cinderella Carson-Newman at the SAC Men's Tennis Tournament.
Carson-Newman (11-8, 7-5 South Atlantic Conference) battled hard, but eventually fell in a 4-0 defeat to No. 10 Wingate (17-1, 11-1 SAC) in the SAC Semifinals.
After defeating No. 25 Lincoln Memorial in upset fashion a day prior, the Bulldogs proved to be too much for the Eagles, dominating in doubles before swiftly finishing the job in singles play to advance to the conference championship.
"We had to give it our best," Carson-Newman Men's Tennis head coach Nathan Gangelhoff said. "We had flashes of that, certainly. Really proud of (Gjorgji Jankulovski), really proud of Matt (Saunders) fighting, and Marnix (Van Dalen) fighting, of course, and Paul (Gayk) had some great flashes of his game."
Wingate started off dismantling Carson-Newman in doubles only allowing the Eagles to win one game combined between the two completed matches. The Bulldogs were a game away from taking all three doubles pairings leading 5-1 on Court No. 1 when the doubles point was clinched putting a stop to the contest.
In singles, both Gjorgji Jankulovski and Leonard Baecker claimed set victories but Wingate got the three matches it needed quickly to secure the 4-0 sweep.
SINGLES RESULTS
No. 1: Gabriel Constantino (WU) vs. Marnix Van Dalen (C-N) 6-2, 3-2, unfinished
No. 2: Florian Walcher (WU) vs. Gjorgji Jankulovski (C-N) 4-6, 4-4, unfinished
No. 3: Carlo Rosellini (WU) def. Louis Keenan (C-N) 6-2, 6-1
No. 4: Luka Brown (WU) def. Paul Gayk (C-N) 6-2, 6-1
No. 5: Rodrigo De la Torre (WU) def. Matthew Saunders (C-N) 6-3, 6-4
No. 6: Federico Spinetta (WU) vs. Leonard Baecker (C-N) 5-7, 4-3, unfinished
Including the unfinished match in doubles, the Bulldogs outscored the Eagles 17-2 across all three doubles flights.
DOUBLES RESULTS
No. 1: Luka Brown/Carlo Rosellini (WU) vs. Gjorgji Jankulovski/Louis Keenan (C-N) 5-1, unfinished
No. 2: Gabriel Constantino/Martino Colabella (WU) def. Marnix Van Dalen/Paul Gayk (C-N) 6-0
No. 3: Florian Walcher/Rodrigo De la Torre (WU) def. Matthew Saunders/Leonard Baecker (C-N) 6-1
Despite the upset of the under-consideration Lincoln Memorial, the Eagles are on the outside looking in for the NCAA Southeast Regional Tournament. However, they still hope to hear their name called during the NCAA's Selection Show.
Should the match be the last for Carson-Newman this season, it graduates Marnix Van Dalen, Paul Gayk, Gjorgji Jankulovski, and Matthew Saunders.
"What a phenomenal group to have," Gangelhoff said. "When we have these guys who rally behind each other, they commit with each other, they fight with each other it's just so awesome to sit back and watch."
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