The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team dropped a 6-1 non-conference match at Gardner-Webb today. The Mocs fall to 6-5 overall while the Bulldogs improved to 5-3.
UTC was swept in doubles action for just the second time this year. GWU took two matches that went to tie-breakers to grab a 1-0 lead. The Mocs lost at No. 2, but freshmenJohn Peacey (Emerald, Australia) and Luke Saunders (Halifax, Nova Scotia) were locked in a tight bout at No. 3 with Brendan Dempsey and Benjamin Kaszas.
UTC forced a breaker at 8-8, but the Bulldogs won the final frame 9-7.
With the point decided, UTC's No. 1 duo of sophomorePavels Grigorjevs (Riga, Latvia) and Chris Smith (Johnson City, Tenn.) played a tie-breaker at 7-7. GWU also won that match with a 7-3 victory in the last frame.
The Mocs were without No. 1 seniorRoberto Vieira (Bedfordview, South Africa) who suffered an injury in yesterday's match at Davidson. The Mocs were only able to get one win in singles play, a three-setter from seniorAnkit Chopra (Chandigrah, India) at No. 3. He took out Kaszas (4-6, 6-4, 6-4) to improve to 10-8 overall and 5-4 in spring action.
UTC returns home on Saturday, March 16, to host SoCon foe UNCG. Match time is set for 1:00 p.m. on the UTC Tennis Courts. A link for live scoring is available on the men's tennis schedule page on GoMocs.com.
Gardner-Webb 6, Chattanooga 1
Mar 07, 2013 at Boiling Springs, N.C.
Doubles competition
1. A. Knutsson-Sundblad/Matthew Parker (GWU) def.Pavels Grigorjevs/Chris Smith (UTC) - 8-7 (7-3)
2. Nikita Zverkov/Ernest Alberch (GWU) def. Stephen Crofford/Ankit Chopra (UTC) - 8-4
3. Brendan Dempsey/Benjamin Kaszas (GWU) def. John Peacey/Luke Saunders (UTC) - 9-8 (9-7)
Singles competition
1. A. Knutsson-Sundblad (GWU) def.Manuel Barroetavena (UTC) - 7-5, 2-6, 1-0 (10-5)
2. Roman Piftor (GWU) def. Chris Smith (UTC) - 7-6 (7-0), 6-0
3. Ankit Chopra (UTC) def. Benjamin Kaszas (GWU) - 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
4. Ernest Alberch (GWU) def. Jackson Tresnan (UTC) - 6-3, 6-3
5. Brendan Dempsey (GWU) def. Luke Saunders (UTC) - 6-1, 6-3
6. Nikita Zverkov (GWU) def. John Peacey (UTC) - 0-6, 6-3, 6-3