The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's tennis team hosts Belmont at Manker Patten Tennis Club this weekend. The Mocs take on the Bruins at 4:00 p.m. (E.S.T.) on Friday, Jan. 19.
Since Monday's opener at Austin Peay had to be rescheduled to Feb. 4, this will be the first match of the spring for UTC. Belmont is 0-1 on the year after losing 7-0 at MTSU on Sunday.
The Mocs are 9-1 all-time against the Bruins, including wins in the last six meetings. UTC won last year's match 5-2, which was the first in the series since 2013.
"Since our first match got postponed the team is more eager than ever to get started," stated head coach Chad Camper. "Playing at home at Manker Patton will be great to start the season. Belmont is a young team and is dangerous at many spots. We will have to bring a high quality of tennis to earn a win."
UTC is coming off a 14-8 record in 2017, Camper's first year with the Mocs. Chattanooga returns five of its top six players from last year's squad, led by senior Samantha Caswell. Other returners include juniors Mckenzie Barco, Delaney Edwards, Caroline Hall and Sydney Patton.
Sophomore Annie Tarwater redshirted last season and leads the four newcomers, including junior Tamri Chalaganidze and freshmen Emma Van Hee and Boghdana Zaprorzhets.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team has two matches on the slate for this weekend. The Mocs host Lee University on Fridaybefore traveling to Alabama on Saturday.
The Mocs match against the Flames is set for 6:00 p.m. (E.S.T.) at the Strang-Voges Tennis Center at The McCallie School. Saturday's match against the Crimson Tide is 7:00 p.m. in Tuscaloosa, Ala. A link for live scoring of the Alabama match is available on the men's tennis schedule page on GoMocs.com.
UTC is 0-1 after dropping Monday's season opener 7-0 at MTSU. Friday's match against Lee is the first home contest of the spring.
This is the first time UTC has hosted Lee since a 7-0 win on April 2, 2014. Located in Cleveland, Tenn., Lee University is an NCAA Division II member of the Gulf South Conference. This will be the Flames' first action of the spring.
"We are looking forward to our home opener against Lee University," stated first-year head coach Chuck Merzbacher. "Everyone is working hard on their games and we know that all we need now is match play."
Alabama is 4-0 on the year, including a 6-1 win over Southern Conference foe The Citadel on Monday. It is the Crimson Tide's best start since 2008. This is only the third time the Mocs have face Alabama in men's tennis. The Tide won both previous meetings in 1982 and 2003.
"The SEC is certainly the top conference in tennis," added Merzbacher. "Alabama has a very strong team and we know that we will have our hands full at every position. We are looking forward to the challenge."