Lady Eagles See Season End in SAC Semifinals
Carson-Newman Women’s Tennis saw its season come to an end in heartbreaking fashion on Wednesday morning in the SAC Women’s Tennis Tournament Quarterfinals.
SUMTER, S.C. – Carson-Newman Women's Tennis saw its season come to an end in heartbreaking fashion on Wednesday morning in the SAC Women's Tennis Tournament Quarterfinals.
No. 50 Coker (14-6, 9-3 South Atlantic Conference) got its revenge from the regular season, taking a 4-3 win over No. 47 Carson-Newman (13-6, 9-3 SAC) in the first round of the SAC Women's Tennis Tournament at the Palmetto Tennis Center in Sumter, S.C.
In the regular season, Carson-Newman took a 4-2 win over the Cobras in Jefferson City which included C-N dropping the doubles point. However, the roles were reversed as C-N took the doubles point in Sumter, flying high on momentum heading into singles.
"The first thing was just self-belief and confidence," Carson-Newman Women's Tennis head coach Nathan Gangelhoff said. "I've seen our girls do such great things in practice with doubles, so I know our potential is there."
However, the Cobras struck in singles, taking four of the six contests to win the match. The fate of the Eagles and Cobras season rested on Court No. 3. With the match score tied 3-3, Hala Awad (Cairo, Egypt) and Emerson Banning of Coker were deadlocked, a set apiece with the third set tied at six games heading into an all-deciding tiebreaker.
Banning took over once the tiebreaker hit, sweeping it 7-0 to take the match for Coker and send the Cobras into the semifinals, ending the Eagles season in heartbreaking fashion.
SINGLES RESULTS
No. 1: Jade Bellegy (COKER) def. Edisa Hot (C-N) 7-6 (11-9), 6-1
No. 2: Emma Sanchez Jimenez (C-N) def. Ilona Hernandez-San. (COKER) 6-2, 6-3
No. 3: Emerson Banning (COKER) def. Hala Awad (C-N) 5-7, 6-0, 7-6 (7-0)
No. 4: Salome Sierra (COKER) def. Sindija Manovska (C-N) 6-2, 6-4
No. 5: Maria del Mar Sarda (C-N) def. Tamara Macias (COKER) 6-1, 6-3
No. 6: Caroline Myers (COKER) def. Leah McBride (C-N) 6-3, 6-2
In a role reversal of the regular season conference contest, the Eagles took the doubles point taking two of the three doubles pairings to clinch.
DOUBLES RESULTS
No. 1: Jade Bellegy/Emerson Banning (COKER) def. Kira Baacke/Maria Ulloa (C-N) 7-5
No. 2: Emma Sanchez Jimenez/Maria del Mar Sarda (C-N) def. Ilona Hernandez-San./Tamara Macias (COKER) 6-4
No. 3: Leah McBride/Hala Awad (C-N) def. Caroline Myers/Salome Sierra (COKER) 6-4
Carson-Newman ends its season in Sumter, only graduating Edisa Hot (Bar, Montenegro) and Maria Ulloa Rodriguez (Cuba) bringing back a majority of its team for next season.
To keep up to date with Carson-Newman Women's Tennis throughout the offseason follow us on social media @CN_Eagles on X and Instagram or Facebook at Carson-Newman Athletics. You can also log online to cneagles.com for team schedules, rosters, news, and more.
