Resende moves onto ITA Cup quarterfinals
ROME, Ga. – Carson-Newman women's tennis senior Ana Carla Resende (Minas Gerais, Brazil) took to the courts of the Rome Tennis Center in day one action of the 2021 ITA Cup from Berry College.
ROME, Ga. – Carson-Newman women's tennis senior Ana Carla Resende (Minas Gerais, Brazil) took to the courts of the Rome Tennis Center in day one action of the 2021 ITA Cup from Rome, Georgia.
Resende was awarded an at-large selection into this year's tournament after her efforts for CNWT in the ITA Southeast Regional Qualifiers from September 24-27 in Sumter, South Carolina. This is the first time an Eagle tennis player has been awarded a place in the tournament under head coach Jim Frederick.
Ana Carla Resende began action from Rome against Taylor Leslie from Dallas Baptist. Leslie entered the ITA Cup with a 9-1 record this fall, compared to Resende entering as 7-1 as her lone loss of 2021 came in the ITA Southeast Regional women's singles finals from Sumter, S.C.
"First round is hard for everybody. A different environment, a different place, and players that you have no idea how they play," Carson-Newman tennis graduate assistant Gabriel Dabdab said. "Even facing these difficulties, Ana Carla is a great player and she's able to go through the hard times."
In the match on Thursday, it would be Resende taking the 7-5, 6-1 victory and moving on to face Anna Novikova of the University of Indianapolis on Friday at 11 a.m. from the Rome Tennis Center. Novikova won her first-round match against Karolin Kirchtag by a result of 6-1, 6-2 Thursday morning.
Once the match started and Leslie got the chance to serve for the first time, she would give Resende an early challenge to overcome as she would serve with a perfectly legal but unorthodox underhanded serve when it was her chance. This would force the Eagles athlete to play up closer to the service box and give Leslie more opportunities to put away points with the other side of the court open.
However, the Brazil native was able to overcome the serve as she would win the first match in a back-and-forth affair by a score of 7-5. Ana Carla Resende played with a much calmer demeanor and seemed to be more strategic with her placement as she has done so all fall season thus far. She would fall behind early but did respond well and took the first set 7-5 and move one step closer to the next round.
In the second set, Resende gained the early momentum and never looked back. She completed figured out how to receive Leslie's serve and took full advantage of the return game to not give any chance for a comeback. Resende would be serving to try and end the match, as she was successful in doing so, claiming a spot in the 2021 ITA Cup women's singles quarterfinals.
"After a rough first set, not playing her best tennis, she stepped up and changes a bit in the second to make things easier. Another tough match tomorrow as she faces the fourth seed," Dabdab said. "I have plenty of confidence that she can do it once again."
Meanwhile, the other party, Taylor Leslie, will be back in action Friday morning at 9 a.m. from Rome, Georgia as she is matched up with Karolin Kirchtag from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Be sure to tune in to watch Ana Carla Resende as she continues her time from the Rome Tennis Center on Friday against Anna Novikova at 11 a.m.
Be sure to follow all things Carson-Newman women's tennis during the 2021-22 season via cneagles.com and all of Carson-Newman's social media platforms.
