The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's tennis team scored a 5-2 win at Belmont tonight. UTC needed four singles victories after dropping the doubles point to improve to 4-2 on the year.
"It was great win today," stated Mocs head coach Chad Camper. "We lost the doubles point against a very smart, very good Belmont team, but I was really proud of the way we fought back."
Trailing 1-0 sophomore Delaney Edwards got things going for Chattanooga with her (6-4, 6-2) win at No.
2. The Mocs followed that with wins from junior Samantha Caswell at No. 1, sophomore Caroline Hall at No. 3, and a three-set victory from sophomore Sydney Patton at No. 4.
"Delaney taking care of business at No. 2 set the tone of the match," added Camper. "After that, wins kept coming and coming."
Belmont's only point in singles came at No. 5. Senior Rachele Gazzola won her match at No. 6 in a pro set (8-5).
"I am super proud of how we played," continued Camper. "We are such a young team, but we are learning every day. This was great preparation heading into tomorrow's match against a tough Lipscomb team."
The Mocs face the Bison at 8:00 p.m. (E.S.T.). Check back to GoMocs.com for a complete recap and scores.
Chattanooga 5, Belmont Women 2
Feb 03, 2017 at Nashvillle, Tenn. (Centennial Sportsplex)
Doubles competition
1. Samantha Caswell/Rachele Gazzola (UTC) def. Lindsey Whitehead/Kendall Warren (BELW) 6-4
2. Laura Kent/Laura Van Eeckhoudt (BELW) def. Delaney Edwards/Sydney Patton (UTC) 7-5
3. Abbie Mather/Maddie Gilley (BELW) def. Caroline Hall/Mckenzie Barco (UTC) 6-3
Singles competition
1. Samantha Caswell (UTC) def. Laura Kent (BELW) 7-6 (3-0), 6-1
2. Delaney Edwards (UTC) def. Lindsey Whitehead (BELW) 6-4, 6-2
3. Caroline Hall (UTC) def. Laura Van Eeckhoudt (BELW) 6-2, 6-4
4. Sydney Patton (UTC) def. Kendall Warren (BELW) 7-5, 2-6, 6-1
5. Abbie Mather (BELW) def. Mckenzie Barco (UTC) 7-5, 6-0
6. Rachele Gazzola (UTC) def. Suzanna Stapler (BELW) 8-4
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team picked up its first win of the season in a big way tonight. The Mocs scored a 4-2 victory over Tennessee Tech, the defending Ohio Valley Conference Champions.
"This was a huge win for us," stated head coach Carlos Garcia. "It is tough to describe the feeling after having such a tough start to the season. I am glad to see the guys experience some success after all of the hard work they have put in."
Chattanooga jumped out early, taking the first two doubles matches for a 1-0 lead. Senior Lucas Plesky and freshman Simon Bustamante opened with a 6-4 win over Eduardo Mena and Alberto Esteban at No. 1. Senior Derrick Brown and junior Michael Birnbaum clinched the point with their 7-5 win over Jorge Alfonzo and Guillermo Nicolas at No. 3.
Singles started out even with both teams taking three first sets. Mena tied the score with a (6-2, 6-1) win over Plesky at No. 1. Freshman Max Grobbelaar quickly responded with a (6-0, 6-1) win over Carlos Taejas at No. 6.
The Mocs went up 3-1 when sophomore Pablo Llebeili defeated Marc Mila (7-5, 6-2) at No. 4. UTC needed one more win on the night to clinch the match, but the last three were all tight.
Freshman Niklas Gerdes lost his first set to Esteban 6-1 at No. 2. He battled back to take the second frame 6-1. Leading 4-2 in the third, he broke Esteban again to take a 5-2 advantage. He then served out for the win and the team victory.
"Nik is a very mature freshman," added Garcia. "He beat a very good senior when we really needed him to step up. He has already had some big wins and I expect him to keep improving as the season progresses."
TTU won at No. 3 and the No. 5 match did not finish. Chattanooga improved to 1-4 on the year while the Golden Eagles dropped to 1-1.
Next up for the Mocs is a Sunday match against former Southern Conference foe Georgia Southern (1-2). First serve is set for 10:00 a.m. (E.S.T.) at the Racquet Club in Hixson. Find a link for live scoring on the men's tennis schedule page on GoMocs.com.
Chattanooga 4, Tennessee Tech 2
Feb 03, 2017 at Chattanooga, Tenn. (Racquet Club)
Doubles competition
1. Lucas Plesky/Simon Bustamante (UTC) def. MENA, Eduardo/ESTEBAN, Alberto (TTU) 6-4
2. BERNARDES, Marcos/TAJES, Carlos (TTU) vs. Niklas Gerdes/Nic Wilson (UTC) no result
3. Michael Birnbaum/Derrick Brown (UTC) def. ALFONZO, Jorge/NICOLAS, Guillermo (TTU) 7-5
Singles competition
1. MENA, Eduardo (TTU) def. Lucas Plesky (UTC) 6-2, 6-4
2. Niklas Gerdes (UTC) def. ESTEBAN, Alberto (TTU) 1-6, 6-1, 6-2
3. BERNARDES, Marcos (TTU) def. Nic Wilson (UTC) 6-2, 5-7, 6-3
4. Pablo Llebeili (UTC) def. MILA, Marc (TTU) 7-5, 6-2
5. Simon Bustamante (UTC) vs. ALFONZO, Jorge (TTU) 7-6 (15-13), 6-7 (8-10), unfinished
6. Max Grobbelaar (UTC) def. TAJES, Carlos (TTU) 6-0, 6-1