April 12, 2008

NEWBERRY, S.C. - The Carson-Newman Lady Eagles rallied with four wins in singles to edge Newberry 5-4 and claim their first South Atlantic Conference title Friday afternoon in Newberry, South Carolina.

C-N (10-1, 7-0 SAC) battled the Lady Indians for almost four hours, to clinch its first title since the SAC began in 1990.

Carson-Newman will be the top seed in the South Atlantic Conference on Tuesday, but will have to wait to know its opponent. The Lady Eagles will host the loser of Saturday's match between Mars Hill and Newberry.

Newberry's top-line doubles duos sent a buzz through the Cannon Tennis Courts crowd by taking the match's opening two points. Lauren Hartley (Beamsville, Ontario, Canada) and Autise Mortimer (Nassau, Bahamas) won, 8-5, over Amanda Bartlett (Powder Springs, Ga.) and Taryn Cappadonna (Kennesaw, Ga.), while Chanelle Clare (Nassau, Bahamas) and Bethany Poppe (Califon, N.J.) stretched the NC lead to 2-0 with a compelling 9-8 (7-2) tiebreak win over Elizabeth Sneed (Kingsport, Tenn.) and Cassie Moulton (Maryville, Tenn.). The loss was the first for Sneed and Moulton in conference play.

The Lady Eagles earned their first tally with an 8-1 win from Emily Sorah (Bristol, Tenn.) and Stephanie Douglas (Knoxville, Tenn.) over Kelly Cheesborough (Harlem, Ga.) and Danielle Beckerle (St. Louis, Mo.).

Like they did in pairs, Newberry's top two guns came out blazing at the start of singles competition. Hartley won her final match at Cannon, a 6-3, 6-2 win over Bartlett. Mortimer pushed the lead to 4-1 with a 6-2, 6-2 win against Cappadonna at #2 singles.

Sneed took a 6-3, 6-1 win over Clare in the third spot, and Sorah followed with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 win over Brittany Grooms (Sumter, S.C.). The Lady Eagles tied the match in No. 5 singles, where Moulton won a tight contest over Poppe, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. The clinching point came in the match's final battle, as Douglas beat Beckerle, 6-0, 6-2.