The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's tennis team posted a huge Southern Conference win at No. 59 Elon today. The Lady Mocs snapped the nationally-ranked Phoenix's 11-match winning streak with the 4-3 victory at the Jimmy Powell Tennis Center.
UTC improves to 10-2 overall and evens its SoCon mark at 2-2 with today's win. Elon drops to 11-2 overall and 1-1 in league play. It was the first win over a ranked team in Jeff Clark's second stint at UTC.
The Lady Mocs rebounded after being swept in doubles to post four singles wins. This is the first win for UTC under Clark after being swept in doubles play. The last time the Lady Mocs battled back to win a match after losing the doubles point was a 6-1 win at UT Martin on March 3, 2012. However, UTC did win at least one doubles match in that comeback.
"This was a great win for us," stated Clark. "They are one of the best teams in our conference and it was a battle today. It was a team effort and we battled at every position."
Sophomore Kaylene Chadwell (Franklin, Tenn.) clinched the match with her 11th straight victory at No. 2. She was down 3-0 in the second set before battling back to defeat Frida Jansaker (7-5, 6-4). This is the second-straight year Chadwell had defeated Jansaker in the deciding match to win a dual with the Phoenix.
Freshman Kelsey Coots (Huntsville, Ala.) started the comeback with a (6-2, 6-0) win over Barbara Lazarova at No. 5. Coots improved to 4-0 at No. 5 and evened the match at 1-1.
UTC took at 2-1 lead with freshman Kayla Jones (Memphis, Tenn.) comeback win at No. 3. She was down a set and 0-3 in the second, when she finally turned it on. Jones went on to defeat Viviana Stravreva (1-6, 6-3, 6-4) to improve to 11-1 in the spring and 22-3 overall.
Senior Jenna Nurik (Roswell, Ga.) put UTC up 3-1 with her (6-3, 6-4) win over Jordan Johnston at No. 1. She avenged a three-set loss to Johnston in last year's meeting and improved to 10-2 in the spring and 15-8 overall.
The Phoenix evened the score at 3-3 with back-to-back wins at No. 4 and No. 6. Sophomore Claire Mulyadi (Semarang, Indonesia) lost for the first time in 11 matches this spring.
UTC stays on the road next week, visiting Mercer on Wednesday, March 13. First serve is set for 2:00 p.m. in Macon, Ga.
Chattanooga 4, #59 Elon 3
Mar 10, 2013 at Elon, N.C. (Jimmy Powell Tennis Center)
Doubles competition
1. Frida Jansaker/Jordan Johnston (ELON) def. Kayla Jones/Kelsey Coots (UTC) 8-1
2. Maria Camara Ruiz/Viviana Stavreva (ELON) def. Jenna Nurik/Kaylene Chadwell (UTC) 8-4
3. Briana Berne/Taylor Casey (ELON) def. Alexa Flynn/Claire Mulyadi (UTC) 8-5
Singles competition
1. Jenna Nurik (UTC) def. Jordan Johnston (ELON) 6-3, 6-4
2. Kaylene Chadwell (UTC) def. Frida Jansaker (ELON) 7-5, 6-4
3. Kayla Jones (UTC) def. Viviana Stavreva (ELON) 1-6, 6-3, 6-4
4. Bryn Khoury (ELON) def. Alexa Flynn (UTC) 6-0, 6-7 (0-7), 6-4
5. Kelsey Coots (UTC) def. Barbara Lazarova (ELON) 6-2, 6-0
6. Maria Camara Ruiz (ELON) def. Claire Mulyadi (UTC) 6-4, 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (5,3,1,6,4,2)