The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's tennis team scored a 5-2 win at Wofford today. The Lady Mocs came from behind in all four of their singles wins to improve to 11-3 overall and 3-2 in the Southern Conference race. Wofford falls to 4-8 and 0-2 in the SoCon with the loss.
"This was a big road win for us," stated head coach Jeff Clark. "Things didn't go our way early in singles, but stayed in it and kept fighting. It was a good team win."
There were plenty of story lines and connections between these two teams. UTC could wrap up back-to-back .500 or better seasons with a win while senior Emily Hangstefer (Signal Mountain, Tenn.) went against her sister, Wofford head coach Katie Hangstefer for the last time. Terrier junior Guinn Garcia is the niece of UTC men's tennis head coach Carlos Garcia and Wofford's No. 1 player, sophomore Sarah Evans, is a Chattanooga native and graduate of GPS.
That familiarity would lead to a tight match that included four three-setters in singles and a tiebreaker in doubles. Chattanooga grabbed the doubles point with wins at No. 3 and No. 2. Hangstefer teamed with senior Shaina Singh (Vancouver, B.C.) to clinch the point with an 8-6 win over Julia Paulson and Samantha Sullivan at No. 2.
The No. 1 match was the closest of the three. With the score even at 7-7, sophomore Alexa Flynn (Memphis, Tenn.) and freshman Kaylene Chadwell (Franklin, Tenn.) lost the extra frame 7-2 to Evans and Garcia.
The Lady Mocs took the team win by scoring in the first three matches off the court. Flynn gave Chattanooga a 2-0 lead with her (2-6, 6-3, 6-4) come-from-behind win at No. 2. She improves to 16-4 overall and 6-4 at No. 2.
Singh put UTC up 3-0 with her (6-4, 7-5) victory over Emily Przystawski at No. 6. Singh was down 1-4 in the first set before winning the next five games. She improves to 16-8 overall and is now 2-0 at No. 6.
Hangstefer had another clinching win with her (3-6, 6-4, 6-1) win over Garcia at No. 4. Hangstefer was down a set and 0-3 in the second before taking 12 of the next 14 games. She moves to 15-5 overall and 8-4 at No. 4.
Chadwell also had a singles win at No. 3 today, defeating Audrey Coventry (7-6 (3), 6-2). She was down 1-5 in the first set before forcing and winning a tiebreaker.
The Lady Mocs wrap up the weekend road trip at Furman tomorrow. Match time is set for 11:00 a.m. (E.D.T.) and a link for live scoring is available on the women's tennis schedule page on GoMocs.com.
Chattanooga 5, Wofford 2
Doubles competition
1. Sarah Evans/Guinn Garcia (WOF) def. Alexa Flynn/Kaylene Chadwell (UTC) 8-7 (7-2)
2. Emily Hangstefer/Shaina Singh (UTC) def. Julia Paulson/Samantha Sullivan (WOF) 8-6
3. Jenna Nurik/Claire Mulyadi (UTC) def. Othilia Lindqvist/Lucy Schermerhorn (WOF) 8-3
Singles competition
1. Sarah Evans (WOF) def. Jenna Nurik (UTC) 7-5, 4-6, 7-5
2. Alexa Flynn (UTC) def. Julia Paulson (WOF) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
3. Kaylene Chadwell (UTC) def. Audrey Coventry (WOF) 7-6 (7-3), 6-2
4. Emily Hangstefer (UTC) def. Guinn Garcia (WOF) 3-6, 6-4, 6-1
5. Othilia Lindqvist (WOF) def. Claire Mulyadi (UTC) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
6.
Shaina Singh (UTC) def. Emily Przystawski (WOF) 6-4, 7-5