Eagles unable to muster win over Wolves

NEWBERRY, S.C. -- Despite claiming the sought-after opening doubles point and singles wins from Gabriel Dabdab (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and Ids Waterbolk (Bennekom, Netherlands), Carson-Newman men's tennis fell 4-3 on the road at Newberry in South Atlantic Conference play.

Saturday's matinee contest began with the Nos. 2 and 3 doubles pairing lifting C-N to the opening match point. The duo of Marc Janse (Zeewolde, Netherlands) and Rintaro Oka (Narita, Japan) were able to strike with a 6-1 victory, followed by Waterbolk and graduate Julian Froehlich (Kobenz, Austria) winning 6-4. 

But in singles play, Nos. 1 through 4 fell in succession to ensure the match victory for the Wolves (7-4, 2-0 SAC). For the Eagles (5-3, 0-2 SAC), the loss is the third-straight year that the team has started 0-2 to begin conference play, respectfully. It is the seventh-straight victory for Newberry over C-N dating back all the way to 2012. 

Despite losing at No. 1 doubles along with teammate Hugo Castets (Gradignan, France), Dabdab was able to turn his day around with a 6-1, 6-0 trashing at No. 5 singles over Luke Layton. At No. 6 singles, Waterbolk's three-set thriller saw the Dutch freshman claim a 5-7, 7-6, 6-4 triumph over Ignacio Garcia De Soca. 

Another three-set match at No. 1 singles for Castets would not fall the way of the Frenchman, losing to Edison Ambarzumjan in a contested, 1-6, 6-4, 3-6 defeat. 

Next week is the beginning of a grueling stretch of matches for C-N, who will see four matches in eight days beginning March 11 against Lincoln Memorial at the Buddy Catlett Tennis Complex. Opening serve from Mossy Creek is slated for 2 p.m. against the Railsplitters.