The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's tennis team posted its first win of the season with a 6-1 victory at Austin Peay today. The Mocs won the doubles point and five singles matches in non-conference action.
UTC took the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles bouts for a 1-0 lead. Senior Kaite Polk and sophomoreSamantha Caswell shut out the Governors at No. 2. Seniors Kelsey Coots and Kayla Jones clinched the point with a 6-2 win at No. 1.
UTC kept the momentum going in singles with straight-set wins in five of six contests.
Polk and seniorAlison Storie won at No. 6 and No. 5, respectively. Junior Rachele Gazzola only dropped two games in her win at No. 4, while Caswell won (6-4, 6-1) at No. 3.
Jones continued her strong start to the season with a win at No. 1. She needed a tiebreaker in the first set, and a 6-4 win in the second, to get past Lidia Yanes Garcia. She is 3-0 at No. 1 in spring duals and 6-2 overall.
"Kayla beat another very good player today and she is playing great to start the season," stated head coach Jeff Clark. "This is a much improved Austin Peay team, so this is a very good win for us.
"It was also nice to see two of our other seniors get wins today. Katie and Alison were both strong at the bottom of the lineup."
The Mocs are back at home next weekend, hosting Evansville at McCallie on Friday, Feb. 12 at 6:00 p.m. UTC also hosts Murray State on Saturday at McCallie at 6:00 p.m. Links for live scoring for both matches are available on the women's tennis schedule page on GoMocs.com.
Chattanooga 6, Austin Peay 1
Feb 06, 2016 at Clarksville, Tenn. (Governors Tennis Center)
Doubles competition
1. Kayla Jones/Kelsey Coots (UTC) def. YANES GARCIA, Lidia/KUPPIG, Helena (APSU) 6-2
2. Samantha Caswell/Katie Polk (UTC) def. TATLOCK, Hannah/JOVANOVIC, Isabela (APSU) 6-0
3. YANES GARCIA, Claudi/COVINGTON, Brittney (APSU) def. Rachele Gazzola/Mckenzie Barco (UTC) 6-4
Singles competition
1. Kayla Jones (UTC) def. YANES GARCIA, Lidia (APSU) 7-6, 6-4
2. YANES GARCIA, Claudi (APSU) def. Kelsey Coots (UTC) 6-1, 6-1
3. Samantha Caswell (UTC) def. KUPPIG, Helena (APSU) 6-4, 6-1
4. Rachele Gazzola (UTC) def. TATLOCK, Hannah (APSU) 6-1, 6-1
5. Alison Storie (UTC) def. COVINGTON, Brittney (APSU) 6-2, 6-2
6. Katie Polk (UTC) def. JOVANOVIC, Isabela (APSU) 6-0, 6-0
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team split a pair of matches against Belmont and Covenant at the Racquet Club. The Mocs lost the opener to the Bruins (4-0) but came back to defeat the Scots in the nightcap 7-0.
The opening doubles point was crucial against Belmont and as usual, it came down to the third match. The Bruins won at No. 1 (6-0), while the Mocs duo of Luke Saunders and Lucas Plesky won 6-1 at No. 2.
Belmont (4-1) was in control at No. 3, up 4-0 in a single set to six. Nick Wingord and Derek Brown battled back to tie the match at 4-4. The UTC duo was up 40-0 when Belmont posted four straight points to take the game on no-ad scoring. The Bruins won the next game to clinch the match and go up 1-0 on the team scoreboard.
The Bruins carries that momentum into singles, winning the first set in four of the seven matches. Wins at No. 6, 5 and 1 gave them the four points needed for the team victory.
Saunders won his first set at No. 4 and Plesky was down a set and up 3-2 in the second at No. 2 when action was called. Wingord also had set point in a tiebreaker when Belmont clinched the team win.
UTC (3-3) rebounded with a 7-0 win over Covenant (1-1) in the second match. The Scots were only able to field five players due to an illness, so the Mocs had a quick advantage due to forfeits at No. 3 doubles and No. 6 singles.
Freshman Paul Lahue won his second straight match with a victory at No. 4. Fellow newcomer Pablo Llebeili also had a win at No. 4. Plesky, Wingord and Saunders also scored singles wins.
"I thought we were a lot better in doubles in the second match," stated UTC head coach Carlos Garica. "We had a chance against Belmont, but could not close out the doubles point. That is definitely something we are going to work on this week."
The Mocs next match is Thursday, Feb. 18, at Tennessee Tech.
Belmont 4, Chattanooga 0
Feb 06, 2016 at Chattanooga, Tenn. (Racquet Club)
Doubles competition
1. Cedric Dujacquier/Robin Demasse (BELM) def. Pablo Llebeili/John Peacey (UTC) - 6-0
2. Luke Saunders/Lucas Plesky (UTC) def. Toby Nicholson/Adam Rudowski (BELM) - 6-1
3. Bruno Russo/Caio Niel (BELM) def. Nick Wingord/Derrick Brown (UTC) - 6-4
Singles competition
1. Cedric Dujacquier (BELM) def. John Peacey (UTC) - 6-0, 6-4
2. Lucas Plesky (UTC) vs. Robin Demasse (BELM) - 3-6, 3-2, unfinished
3. Nick Wingord (UTC) vs. Adam Rudowski (BELM) - 6-6, 0-0, unfinished
4. Luke Saunders (UTC) vs. Toby Nicholson (BELM) - 6-1, 4-3, unfinished
5. Bruno Russo (BELM) def. Pablo Llebeili (UTC) - 6-0, 6-4
6. Zak Khan (BELM) def. Derrick Brown (UTC) - 6-2, 6-1
Match Notes
Belmont 4-1
Chattanooga 2-3
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (5,6,1)
T-1:47 A-34
Chattanooga 7, Covenant 0
Feb 06, 2016 at Chattanooga, Tenn. (Racquet Club)
Doubles competition
1. Lucas Plesky/Luke Saunders (UTC) def. Matthew Harvie/Chris Cox (CCM) 6-1
2. Derrick Brown/Michael Birnbaum (UTC) def. Trey Wood/Connor Shimmel (CCM) 6-1
Singles competition
1. Lucas Plesky (UTC) def. Matthew Harvie (CCM) 6-1, 6-1
2. Nick Wingord (UTC) def. Chris Cox (CCM) 6-0, 6-3
3. Luke Saunders (UTC) def. Trey Wood (CCM) 6-1, 6-0
4. Pablo Llebeili (UTC) def. Travis Hutchinson (CCM) 6-0, 6-0
5. Paul LaHue (UTC) def. Connor Shimmel (CCM) 6-1, 6-1
6. Michael Birnbaum (UTC) by forfeit