The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s tennis team was represented in the finals of both the singles and doubles draw at the Chattanooga Collegiate Clay Court Championships at the Manker Patten Tennis Club Sunday.

Senior NIklas Gerdes led the Mocs with a (6-2, 6-3) win over Troy’s Oskar Michalek in the morning semifinals.  He had a tough battle in the finals of the 32-man draw against Troy’s Charles Anton.  After dropping the first set, Gerdes bounced back to win the second. 

They played a 10-point super-tiebreaker to decide the match, with Anton grabbing the win [6-4, 2-6, 1-0 (8)].

Gerdes and sophomore Tomas Rodriguez started the day in the doubles finals.  There they lost a 6-4 bout to Memphis’s Jan Palles and Patrick Sydow. 

“I could not be more pleased with this effort at the 5Cs,” stated UTC head coach and tournament organizer Chuck Merzbacher.  “Runner-up in singles and doubles with only one full week of tennis practice under our belts was a solid performance.” 

Senior Turner Voges and junior Jacob Marshall won in doubles consolations over Eastern Illinois Pau Riera and Max Pilipovic-Kljajic (6-3).  Voges also scored a singles win in the backdraw, defeating the Panthers Daniel Hernandez (7-6 (8), 6-4). 

“I have to thank the Maker Patten Tennis Club for hosting this event,” added Merzbacher. “I would also like to thank the UTC Athletic Training staff and our administration for pulling us through the water outage and helping us carry on with the event. There was a lot going on.”

Up next for the Mocs is the Alumni Match on Saturday, Sept. 21.  Former Mocs interested in competing should contact Coach Merzbacher (charles-merzbacher@utc.edu).  

Singles
Niklas Gerdes (UTC) def. Oskar Michalek (Troy) – 6-2, 6-3
Charles Anton (Troy) def. Niklas Gerdes (UTC) – 6-4, 2-6, 1-0 (8)
Turner Voges (UTC) def. Daniel Hernandez (EIU) – 7-6 (8), 6-4
Jan Pallares (Memphis) def. Tomas Rodriguez (UTC) – 6-7, 6-3, 1-0 (7)
Nikola Puric (UAB) def. Jacob Marshall (UTC) – 6-3, 6-3
Javier Llinares (Troy) def. Jacob Marshall (UTC) – 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (4)

 

Doubles
Jan Palles/Patrick Sydow (Mem) def. Tomas Rodriguez/Niklas Gerdes (UTC) – 6-4
Tuner Voges/Jacob Marshall (UTC) def. Pau Riera/Max Pilipovic-Kljajic (EIU) – 6-3