The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team pulled off a big 4-3 road win in its Southern Conference opener at Davidson today. The Mocs won their fourth match in a row to improve to 5-6 overall and 1-0 in league matches.
Bad weather forced the match indoors, but UTC was still able to snap a three-match slide to the Wildcats. The win is the first for UTC over Davidson since posting a 5-2 victory at home on March 3, 2007. It is the Mocs' first win at Davidson since a 6-1 triumph on March 26, 2006.
UTC got off to a fast start by winning the doubles point for the fourth-straight match. Sophomores Jackson Tresnan (Apopka, Fla.) and Stephen Crofford (Franklin, Tenn.) lost the first contest of the day at No. 2, but UTC's No. 3 tandem came right back with a win. Sophomore William Disterdick (Hixson, Tenn.) and freshman Trent Cobb (Melbourne, Australia) evened things up with their 8-2 win over Kevin Moore and Chris Mark.
That left the No. 1 match between sophomores Chris Smith (Johnson City, Tenn.) and Roberto Vieira (Bedfordview, South Africa) and Davidson's duo of Joe Shafer and Calum Gee. These two pairs went back and forth with the Wildcats breaking for a 7-6 lead. Smith and Vieira then ran off three straight games to grab a 9-7 win and improve to 7-3 on the year.
"When you win the doubles in this league it gives you a chance," stated head coach Carlos Garcia, who won his 100th match as the men's coach at UTC this week. He now owns a 101-118 record in men's play in over nine seasons at Chattanooga. "Our top four got off to a great start in singles action, but it was a total team effort today."
The Mocs won the first set in three of their first four singles matches, but Davidson tied the team score at 1-1 when Shafer defeated Smith (6-4, 6-2) at No. 2. Chattanooga countered with Vieira's 6-4, 6-4 win over Chris Mark at No. 1. Vieira evens his record at 7-7 with the win.
UTC went up 3-1 when Cobb put away Aria Hefter 7-5, 7-5 at No. 3. The Mocs clinched the match with the continued strong play from Tresnan at No. 4. He won his seventh-straight match with a 6-4, 7-6 (4) victory over Walker Lyons. Tresnan improves to a team-leading 10-7 on the year and is 7-0 at No. 4.
Disterdick and senior Rick van de Bovenkamp (Oud-Beyerland, The Netherlands) both lost in their matches at No. 5 and 6, respectively.
"Everybody contributed today," continued Garcia. "This is a tough, tough place to play and anytime you can get a win at Davidson's indoor courts, you have accomplished something. The team is really coming together and we will continue to work hard and get better as the season goes on."
The Mocs are back in action on Thursday, March 10 when they host Murray State. Match time against the Racers is set for 2:00 p.m. on the UTC Tennis Courts. Live scoring for the match will be available on GoMocs.com.
Chattanooga 4, Davidson 3
Mar 06, 2011 at Davidson, N.C. (Knobloch Indoor Tennis Center)
Doubles competition
1. Chris Smith-Roberto Vieira (UTC) def. Calum Gee-Joe Shafer (DAV) - 9-7
2. Walker Lyons-Ethan Kallick (DAV) def. Stephen Crofford-Jackson Tresnan (UTC) - 8-2
3. Trent Cobb-William Disterdick (UTC) def. Kevin Moore-Chris Mark (DAV) - 8-2
Singles competition
1. Roberto Vieira (UTC) def. Chris Mark (DAV) - 6-4, 6-4
2. Joe Shafer (DAV) def. Chris Smith (UTC) - 6-4, 6-2
3. Trent Cobb (UTC) def. Arie Hefter (DAV) - 6-5, 6-5
4. Jackson Tresnan (UTC) def. Walker Lyons (DAV) - 6-4, 7-6 (7-4)
5. Calum Gee (DAV) def. William Disterdick (UTC) - 6-1, 6-2
6. Kevin Moore (DAV) def. Rick van de Bovenkamp (UTC) - 6-0, 7-5