First conference win for women’s tennis snaps a six-match losing streak
C-N Women’s Tennis switched up their doubles pairs to notch a 4-0 sweep over Coker and get back in the win column.
HARTSVILLE, S.C. – C-N Women's Tennis switched up their doubles pairs to notch a 4-0 sweep over Coker and get back in the win column.
It was a big revenge match for Carson-Newman, as Coker was the team to knock the Eagles out of the SAC tournament last season in heartbreaking fashion.
With the win, the women move to 4-7 on the season and 1-3 in conference play. Before this win, C-N had lost six straight. This is the Eagles' third sweep of the season.
"This was a great match for our girls. We started strong in doubles and didn't look back," said head coach Nate Gangelhoff. "We were able to play smarter when it counted and be strong enough in crucial moments. It was good enough today, and hopefully this is the start of more wins coming."
It was a different look from C-N in doubles, with Hala Awad and Abinaya Sweeton playing first doubles. Kira Baacke and Maria del Mar Sarda Marti took a 6-3 win at second doubles, marking their third win on the season as a pair. Leah McBride and Mar Fraile were dominant in the third slot, with a 6-1 win to give Carson-Newman and 1-0 lead.
Awad and Sweeton were down 4-2 when the doubles point was secured.
Kerrigan Spiers was elevated to the second slot in the lineup, and beat Salome Sierra 6-1, 6-4. The freshman leveled her singles record to 3-3 with the win.
Leah McBride was set to play in fifth and took care of Coker's Mia Islambasic 6-2, 6-1. McBride is now 2-5 in solo play.
Abinaya Sweeton played six for C-N, and now holds a winning record in individual play for the Eagles. Her 6-1, 6-1 win helped the team sweep the match, and marks her second win in a row in the singles lineup.
Hala Awad and Ilona Hernandez-Sanchez were locked at a set each and in the middle of a third set when the Eagles won. Awad took set one 7-6 after winning a tiebreaker 7-2, but fell in set two 6-4. She was up two games when the Eagles clinched.
Maria del Mar Sarda Marti was just about finished with her third set as well at the third line. The senior took set one 6-3 before falling in set two 6-4. She was up 5-2 in the final frame when C-N took the match.
Sindija Manovska fell in her first set at fourth singles 6-4, but dominated in set two 6-2. Manovska was losing 4-1 in the final set.
Carson-Newman will look to build upon this win when they face Emory & Henry on Tuesday in another conference battle. For updates, follow @cneagles on social media. Full coverage will be available at cneagles.com.
