The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team scored its first win of the season in impressive fashion today. The Mocs swept UAB 7-0 at the UTC Tennis Center. Chattanooga improved to 1-5 with the win, while the Blazers dropped to 2-4 overall.
UTC opened the season with tough matches at Alabama and Clemson, before a three-week shutdown due to COVID-19 issues within the program slowed their return in mid-February. After back-to-back 4-3 losses to Presbyterian and Troy, the Mocs came out on fire today.
"It was certainly nice to get a "W" and build some momentum as we progress through the schedule," stated head coach Chuck Merzbacher. "This was a match with our full lineup as Jeffrey Dewald played superb in his return. It was a solid effort across the board.
I thought everyone played relentless on each and every point and it seemed to keep us in the match. I am proud of these guys as we comeback from the shut down."
Chattanooga took two of three doubles matches to score the opening point. Senior Turner Voges and sophomore Simon Labbe opened with a 6-0 win over Thanos Spyropoulos and Vojtech Podzemny at No. 2. It was the Chattanooga duo's team-high 10th doubles win of the year as they improved to 3-2 in the spring
The Mocs clinched the doubles point with sophomore Kerim Hyatt and freshman Jeffrey Dewald's 6-3 win over Daniel Janko and Parker Bradbary and No. 3. It was just the second time in six matches this spring the Mocs had won the doubles point.
UTC won the first set in five of the six singles, with Dewald scoring the first win at No. 4. He defeated Spyropoulos (6-1, 6-2) to snap a three-match slide.
Hyatt gave Chattanooga a 3-0 lead with a (6-4, 6-1) win over Janko at No. 3, while sophomore Tomas Rodriguez clinched the win with a (6-2, 6-2) win over Roman Postolka at No. 1.
Gatti stopped a six-match losing streak with a win at No. 6, while Labbe took the point at No. 5. Voges had the only three-setter of the day, winning at No. 2 for his third singles victory in a row.
Up next for the Mocs is a trip to UNC Asheville on Sunday. Match time is set for 1:00 p.m., so be sure to check back to GoMocs.com for complete results.
Chattanooga 7, UAB 0
3/5/2021 at Chattanooga, Tenn. (UTC Tennis Center)
Doubles competition
1. Roman Postolka/Michal Lusovsky (UAB) def. Tomas Rodriguez/Peyton Gatti (UTC) 6-2
2. Turner Voges/Simon Labbe (UTC) def. Thanos Spyropoulos/Vojtech Podzemny (UAB) 6-0
3. Kerim Hyatt/Jeffrey Dewald (UTC) def. Daniel Janko/Parker Bradbary (UAB) 6-3
Singles competition
1. Tomas Rodriguez (UTC) def. Roman Postolka (UAB) 6-2, 6-2
2. Turner Voges (UTC) def. Michal Lusovsky (UAB) 4-6, 7-6, 10-7
3. Kerim Hyatt (UTC) def. Daniel Janko (UAB) 6-4, 6-1
4. Jeffrey Dewald (UTC) def. Thanos Spyropoulos (UAB) 6-1, 6-2
5. Simon Labbe (UTC) def. Vojtech Podzemny (UAB) 6-4, 6-4
6. Peyton Gatti (UTC) def. Giovani Pasini (UAB) 6-4, 6-2