The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team starts the 2012 fall season with a trip to the 45th annual Southern Intercollegiate Tennis Championships in Athens, Ga., this weekend. Hosted by the University of Georgia, the Southern Intercollegiate is the oldest fall tennis tournament in the nation.
The Mocs are one of 24 teams who compete in the event this weekend. The list includes Armstrong Atlantic, The Citadel, Clemson, East Tennessee State, Florida, Florida Gulf Coast, Furman, Georgia, Georgia College, Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State, Kentucky, Liberty, Lipscomb, Mercer, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, North Florida, Presbyterian, Tennessee Tech, Vanderbilt and Virginia Tech.
The tournament runs from Friday through Monday, Sept. 7-10, with as many as three singles divisions and two doubles divisions and a champion to be named in each. There are also at least two rounds of singles consolation matches.
"This weekend will provide us with a terrific platform to start the fall season," head coach Carlos Garcia, who is in his 12th season at UTC. "The Southern Intercollegiate is one of the premier fall college tennis tournaments with a tremendous history played at one of the best college venues. The high level of competition will be a great stepping stone for our preparation for a successful fall campaign."
Chattanooga will be sending five student-athletes, including seniors Manuel Barroetavena (Buenos Aires, Argentina), Stephen Crofford (Franklin, Tenn.), Chris Smith (Johnson City, Tenn.), Jackson Tresnan (Apopka, Fla.) and sophomore Pavels Grigorjevs (Riga, Latvia). Barroetavena and Tresnan will team up in doubles along with Crofford and Smith.
Draws are expected to be released later today. A recap and full results of the Mocs matches will be available on GoMocs.com following each day of action.
Chattanooga is coming off a 14-9 campaign that included a 4-6 mark in Southern Conference action. It was the most wins for the program since 2007. The Mocs return their top eight players and have seven seniors on the roster.
Barroetavena led the team with a 21-8 singles record in 2011-12. Tresnan was 14-8, while Grigorjevs had a 13-10 singles mark.