The UTC men’s tennis team opened fall play at the Mercer Gridiron Classic in Macon, Ga., on Friday. UTC was led by its three freshmen, who each won in singles action.
John Marshall and Luke Plaisted both posted victories in the Panthers Draw, while Cooper Long scored a win in the Raiders bracket.
Sophomore Simon Bustamante almost pulled off an upset over No.
8 seed Nicolas Guillon of Mercer in the Buccaneers Draw. He lost that one 7-5, 7-6.
“The top of our lineup faced some tough competition, but the but the younger guys did well in the bottom of the lineup,” stated first-year head coach Chuck Merzbacher. “We had some first match jitters and a little nerves in the beginning with the doubles, but we came back strong.”
The Mocs are back on the court again Saturday 8:30 a.m.
Singles Buccaneers Draw
Fermin Calvo (Kennesaw St) def. Niklas Gerdes (UTC) – 6-0, 6-3
No. 8 Seed Nicolas Guillon (Mercer) def. Simon Bustamante (UTC) – 7-5, 7-6
Singles Jets Draw
No. 6 Seed Ignacio Garrida (USC Upstate) def. Pablo Llebeili (UTC) – 6-2, 6-2
Singles Panthers Draw
Jacob Marshall (UTC) def. Colton Phillips (Georgia College) – 6-3, 6-4
Luke Plaisted (UTC) def. No. 7 Seed Tino Dahelm (Kennesaw St) – 6-4, 6-3
Singles Raiders Draw
Cooper Long (UTC) def. Gabe Caron (Georgia College) – 6-3, 6-3
Samuel Bird (Troy) def. Paul LaHue (UTC) – 7-6, 6-2
Doubles Cowboys Draw
Ion Efrim/Chris Andre (Alabama State) def. Jacob Marshall/Cooper Long (UTC) - 7-5
Artemie Amari/Santiago Suarez (Georgia Southern) def. Simon Bustamante/Niklas Gerdes (UTC) – 6-2
Doubles Dolphins Draw
Timothy Kiehl/Jared Bones (North Georgia) def. No. 3 Seed Pablo Llebeili/Luke Plaisted (UTC) – 6-1
Jordan Mark/John Wharton (Mercer) def. Paul LaHue/Michael Birnbaum (UTC) – 6-1