Freshmen continue strong start at ITA Southeast Regionals
The Carson-Newman men’s tennis team won five matches but also lost five during two days of competition at the International Tennis Association Southeast Regional qualifiers in Sumter, South Carolina.
SUMTER, S.C. – The Carson-Newman men's tennis team won five matches but also lost five during two days of competition at the International Tennis Association Southeast Regional qualifiers in Sumter, South Carolina.
Freshman Marc Janse (Zeewolde, Netherlands) was able to bypass the opening round of 128 because he was the 16th-seeded player in the tournament.
He defeated Isaac MacMillan in the round of 64 by a score of 6-2, 6-2 but then lost to 9th-seeded Josep Canyadell 6-2, 6-2 in the round of 32.
"He lost 6-2, 6-2 today against a player that is a senior from Wingate that is a more well-rounded player than he is right now," Carson-Newman coach Jim Frederick said. "I think when he came off the court he realized what he has to do to get to that level. He knows what improvements he has to make."
Fellow freshman Hugo Castets (Gardignan, France) was taken down in the round of 128 by Justus Lehmann 6-2, 6-3.
He then won two straight matches in consolation, one over Dovydas Sadauskus 6-3, 6-7 (0); 1-0 (6) and then over the 16th-seeded Hassan Badran 7-6 (4); 6-2.
"Hugo lost his first round in the main draw, he played very inconsistently which is the thing we've got to work on with him," Frederick said. "Hugo is so talented, he can hit every shot there is. When he calms down, he stays focused and he makes more shots."
Senior Gabriel Dabdab (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) also lost his opening match in the round of 128 by a tally of 6-2, 6-3 to Josh Lazenby and was then beaten by Manuel Almeida, the 9th-seed in the tournament. Dabdab's third opponent had to withdraw due to injury, which is technically counted as a victory for him.
"Dabdab played better both days, he played hard both days," Frederick said. "He wasn't overwhelmed in either match… Tennis is a game where it comes down to a point here and a point there and sometimes it comes down to one point to win a set and that's exactly what happened."
Dabdab teamed up with Castets in doubles play and the duo won their round of 64 match 6-4 before being tripped up by in the round of 32 by a score of 7-5.
"It was a high level of competition obviously, the good thing is Hugo won two matches, Marc won one," Frederick said. "Those are two freshmen that for the second tournament in a row have won two matches."
The Eagles will next play at the University of the Cumberlands Tournament in Williamsburg, Kentucky on Saturday, Oct. 5th.
Be sure to keep up with the C-N men's tennis team all season long across Carson-Newman's social media platforms and on cneagles.com
