The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team earned its first win of the spring season with a 4-3 victory over Tennessee Tech at the Hixson Racquet Club today. The Mocs evened their record at 1-1 overall, splitting the two matches on the opening weekend.
UTC won the doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 3. Seniors Roberto Vieira (Bedfordview, South Africa) and Chris Smith (Johnson City, Tenn.) got the Mocs on the board with an 8-1 win over Syrym Abdukhalikov and Alejando Augusto at No. 1. Freshman John Peacey (Emerald, Australia) and senior Stephen Crofford (Franklin, Tenn.) clinched the opening point with an 8-5 win at No. 3.

UTC put the match out of reach by winning the first three singles in straight sets. Senior Manuel Barroetavena (Buenos Aires, Argentina) started singles with a (6-2, 6-0) win over Artem Tarasov at No. 3. Chattanooga went up 3-0 when senior Jackson Tresnan (Apopka, Fla.) scored a (6-1, 6-1) win over Othon Lima at No. 6.

The Mocs clinched the match when freshman Luke Saunders (Halifax, Nova Scotia) defeated Alvaro Cintas (6-3, 6-3) at No. 5. Saunders and Peacey both joined the Mocs at the start of the spring semesters and are a combined 3-2 in singles and doubles play.

"We played much better today than Friday," stated head coach Carlos Garcia. "We had some weaknesses exposed on Friday, but were able to work on them and make some adjustments. I think we saw a much better effort today."

The Mocs will be back on the court again next Sunday, hosting Belmont at the Hixson Racquet Club. Match time against the Bruins is set for 10:00 a.m. (E.S.T.) and live scoring will be available on the men's tennis schedule page on GoMocs.com.

Chattanooga 4, Tennessee Tech 3
Doubles competition 
1. Chris Smith/Roberto Vieira (UTC) def. Syrym Abdukhalikov/Alejandro Augusto (TTU) - 8-1 
2. Vasily Eremeev/Artem Tarasov (TTU) def. Ankit Chopra/Luke Saunders (UTC) - 8-4 
3. John Peacey/Stephen Crofford (UTC) def. Othon Lima/Alvaro Cintas (TTU) - 8-5

Singles competition 
1. Alejandro Augusto (TTU) def. Roberto Vieira (UTC) - 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 
2. Syrym Abdukhalikov (TTU) def. Chris Smith (UTC) - 6-3, 6-3 
3. Manuel Barroetavena (UTC) def. Artem Tarasov (TTU) - 6-2, 6-0 
4. Vasily Eremeev (TTU) def. Pavels Grigorjevs (UTC) - 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 
5. Luke Saunders (UTC) def. Alvaro Cintas (TTU) - 6-3, 6-3 
6. Jackson Tresnan (UTC) def. Othon Lima (TTU) - 6-1, 6-1