The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's tennis team passed its toughest test of the season with a 5-1 win at UAB this afternoon. The Lady Mocs continue their best start since 1991, improving to 7-0 in the spring. It was only the second loss of the year for the Blazers who fall to 6-2 overall.
Weather forced a change in the schedule, moving the first serve up to 1:30 p.m. (E.S.T.) and starting with singles action. UAB was off to a hot start of its own, coming off a 4-3 win over Southern Conference opponent and cross-town rival Samford on Wednesday. The Blazers' only other loss was a 4-3 setback to Middle Tennessee.
UTC won all six first sets in the match today, grabbing the momentum from the beginning. Freshman Kayla Jones (Memphis, Tenn.) was first off the court with a (6-3, 6-0) win over Menanteau Moolman at No. 3. Senior Jenna Nurik (Roswell, Ga.) gave UTC a 2-0 lead with her (6-3, 6-1) win over Isabel Fernandez at No. 1.
UTC had its string of five straight shutouts broken when freshman Kelsey Coots (Huntsville, Ala.) dropped her first match of the year. She lost in three sets (1-6, 6-0, 6-1) to Caroline Faught at No. 4.
Sophomore Claire Mulyadi (Semarang, Indonesia) made it 3-1 with a (6-4, 6-4) win over Amy Lowther at No. 5. Freshman Katie Polk (Woodstock, Ga.) clinched the team victory with her (7-5, 6-2) win over Elaine Simon at No. 6.
Sophomore Kaylene Chadwell (Franklin, Tenn.) had a tough battle in the last match at No. 2 against Rachel Daniell. Down 6-5 in the first, she fought off numerous set points before fighting back to force a tiebreaker. She won that 7-4 to take the set 7-6. She went on to win the second set 6-3 and improve to 6-1 on the year.
"Jenna and Kaylene had big wins today at No. 1 and No. 2," stated UTC head coach Jeff Clark. "They both beat girls who were undefeated, so it was a good test for both of them."
Nurik, Jones and Mulyadi all move to 7-0 in singles play. Chattanooga has lost just two points in its seven matches this season and is 40-2 in combined singles.
UTC returns home on Saturday, Feb. 23, to host Jacksonville State. Match time is set for 1:00 p.m. on the UTC Tennis Courts. A link for live scoring is available on the women's tennis schedule page on GoMocs.com.
Chattanooga 5, UAB 1
Feb 21, 2013 at Birmingham, Ala. (George Ward Park)
Singles competition
1. Jenna Nurik (UTC) def. Isabel Fernandez (UAB) - 6-3, 6-1
2. Kaylene Chadwell (UTC) def. Rachel Daniell (UAB) - 7-6 (7-4), 6-3
3. Kayla Jones (UTC) def. Menanteau Moolman (UAB) - 6-3, 6-0
4. Caroline Faught (UAB) def. Kelsey Coots (UTC) - 1-6, 6-0, 6-1
5. Claire Mulyadi (UTC) def. Amy Lowther (UAB) - 6-4, 6-4
6. Katie Polk (UTC) def. Elaine Simon (UAB) - 7-5, 6-2