All three Chattanooga Mocs advanced in the singles main draw at the ITA Ohio Valley Regional in Knoxville, Tenn., today. Senior Kaylene Chadwell and juniors Kayla Jonesand Kelsey Coots scored big wins to move on to Sunday’s second round.
Chadwell had the signature victory. She scored a three-set win over No.
5 seed Marta Morga of Memphis (6-4, 6-7, 7-6) in a 3.5 hour marathon. Chadwell was down 2-5 in the third set and held off match point before mounting a huge comeback.
Jones also had a tough win (7-5, 7-5) against Indiana’s Shannon Murdy. Coots followed with a three-setter of her own (6-3, 1-6, 6-4) against UT Martin’s Hitomi Naito.
“It was a big day for the Mocs,” stated head coach Jeff Clark. “To have all three advance in the singles main draw in such a tough tournament is huge for us. It was also great to see Kaylene and Kelsey win in three sets. Now we have to get some rest and be ready to do it again tomorrow.”
Overall, the Mocs won four of five singles on the day. Freshman Samantha Caswelldefeated Murray State’s Megan Blue (6-4, 6-4) and junior Alison Storie lost in consolation action.
The tourney continues tomorrow for the Mocs at 10:30 a.m., at the Knoxville Racquet Club. Chadwell faces Louisville’s Elle Stokes, while Coots goes against the No. 4 seed Aldila Sutjiadi of Kentucky. Jones takes on Memphis’s No. 7 seed Anki Wind.
Follow all of the action on Twitter @ITAOhioValley or on @GoMocsWTEN. A live blog from the event is available here and complete results will be posted on GoMocs.com following each day of competition.
Singles
Kelsey Coots (UTC) def. Hitomi Naito (UTM) – 6-3, 1-6, 6-4
Kaylene Chadwell (UTC) def. No. 5 Marta Morga (Memphis) – 6-4, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4)
Kayla Jones (UTC) def. Shannon Murdy (Indiana) – 7-5, 7-5
Consolation Singles
Samantha Caswell (UTC) def. Megan Blue (Murray State) – 6-4, 6-4
Burcu Tari (UTM) def. Alison Storie (UTC) – 6-3, 6-1
Doubles
Ashleigh Antal-Astra Sharma (Vandy) def. Kayla Jones-Samantha Caswell (UTC) – 8-3
Brittany Lindl-Victoria Olivarez (Tennessee) def. Kelsey Coots-Alison Storie (UTC) – 8-3