The UTC men's tennis team posted a 6-1 win over UNC Greensboro on the UTC Tennis Courts on Saturday. The Mocs snapped a two-match slide to improve to 7-5 overall and 2-1 in Southern Conference action. The Spartans entered the week undefeated, but drop to 7-2 overall and 2-2 in league play.

Senior Jackson Tresnan (Apopka, Fla.) fought off leg cramps and an ailing shoulder to put away Cameron Smith (6-2, 6-4) at No. 5 and seal the win. Smith came into the match with a 6-1 spring record, but Tresnan snapped a four-match slide of his own in the gutty victory. Tresnan improves to 7-4 in the spring and 10-9 in singles overall.

"This was a huge win for us," stated head coach Carlos Garcia. "After not playing well on the road last week, it was great to see the guys rebound and play well today. We won some tough matches and beat a really good team, so I am very proud of my guys."

The Mocs grabbed the momentum early in the match with two doubles wins. Garcia may have found a solid combination at No. 1 in senior Ankit Chopra (Chandigrah, India) and freshman John Peacey (Emerald, Australia). Playing the top spot for the first time, the UTC duo smoked UNCG's top tandem of Daniel Mack and Ahmet Sarioglu 8-2 in just over 40 minutes. Chattanooga had only two wins in the previous 11 matches at No. 1 doubles coming into today's action.

Tresnan and fellow senior Manuel Barroetavena (Buenos Aires, Argentina) clinched the point with an 8-6 win over William Albright and Randy Phillips at No. 3. It was the third straight win for the pair as they improve to 7-2 in spring doubles.

Both teams were without one of their top players in singles action. UTC senior Roberto Vieira (Bedfordview, South Africa) played at No. 2 doubles, but was held out of singles due to a nagging leg injury. UNCG freshman James Dougherty is the Spartans' No. 2 singles player, but was not in the lineup at all today.

Chattanooga kept the pressure on after winning the doubles point, taking the first set in four matches. Barroetavena was impressive filling in at No. 1 for Vieira. He put UTC up 2-0 with his (6-1, 6-2) win over Sarioglu. Barroetavena leads the team with a 16-8 overall record and is 9-3 in spring action.

The Mocs led in three of the last five matches, but UNCG did not go quietly and made the match much closer than the final score. Gaston Murray put the Spartans on the board with his (6-2, 6-3) win over Chris Smith (Johnson City, Tenn.) at No. 3.

At the same time, Chattanooga freshman Luke Saunders (Halifax, Nova Scotia) was serving the match against Albright at No. 6. Albright forced a tiebreaker, which he won 7-2, putting that bout into a third set. Tresnan was also down 3-0 in his second set and UNCG was right back in the match.

Sophomore Pavels Grigorjevs (Riga, Latvia) helped Chattanooga get back on track with a straight-sets win at No. 4. He defeated Mack (6-4, 6-4) to give the Mocs a 3-1 advantage. Tresnan followed that with his clinching win at No. 5. With the match decided, both Saunders and Chopra posted three-set wins to finish out the team scoring.

The Mocs are back on the court next week when they host SoCon-leading Elon (7-4, 3-0 SoCon) at the UTC Tennis Courts on Saturday, March 23. First serve is set for 10 a.m. and a link for live scoring is available on the men's tennis schedule page on GoMocs.com.

Chattanooga 6, UNCG 1
Mar 16, 2013 at Chattanooga, Tenn. (UTC Tennis Courts)
Doubles competition
1.Ankit Chopra/John Peacey (UTC) def. Daniel Mack/Ahmet Sarioglu (UNCG) 8-2
2. Gaston Murray/Cameron Smith (UNCG) def. Chris Smith/Roberto Vieira (UTC) 8-6
3. Manuel Barroetavena/Jackson Tresnan (UTC) def. William Albright/Randy Phillips (UNCG) 8-6

Singles competition
1.Manuel Barroetavena (UTC) def. Ahmet Sarioglu (UNCG) 6-1, 6-2
2. Gaston Murray (UNCG) def. Chris Smith (UTC) 6-2, 6-3
3. Ankit Chopra (UTC) def. Randy Phillips (UNCG) 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-2)
4. Pavels Grigorjevs (UTC) def. Daniel Mack (UNCG) 6-4, 6-4
5. Jackson Tresnan (UTC) def. Cameron Smith (UNCG) 6-2, 6-4
6. Luke Saunders (UTC) def. William Albright (UNCG) 6-2, 6-7 (2-7), 6-3

Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (1,2,4,5,6,3)