Sophomore Tomas Rodriguez
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s tennis team scored a 5-2 win at Belmont in Nashville, Tenn., today. The Mocs upped their overall record to 7-9 with the non-conference victory, while the Bruins suffered just their third loss of the season to drop to 9-3.
Belmont came into the day riding a three-match winning streak and wins in nine of its last 10 outings. The Mocs jumped out to an early lead by taking the doubles point.
Junior Kaisei Kuroki and sophomore Kerim Hyatt started it off with a 6-2 win over Arthur Toledo and Jake Briggs at No.
3. The Mocs duo improved to 3-1 at No. 3 in the spring.
Sophomore Tomas Rodriguez and freshman Peyton Gatti clinched the point with a 6-2 win over Marko Ilic and Taisei Miyamoto at No. 1. It was their fifth win in a row as they moved to 8-5 in the top spot in the doubles lineup this spring.
Belmont tied it up with a win at No. 2 singles, but freshman Jeffrey Dewald gave UTC the lead back with a (6-3, 6-2) win over Miyamoto at No. 5.
The Bruins tied it again with a win at No. 3, but UTC closed out the day with wins in the last three singles matches. Rodriguez defeated Ilic (7-6 (5), 6-4) at No. 1, while sophomore Simon Labbe clinched the win with a three-set victory at No. 4 against Diego Castro (6-4, 3-6, 6-0).
Junior Jacob Marshall closed out the afternoon at No. 6 with a (7-6 (3), 6-3) win over Alfred Wallin.
UTC improved to 9-7 in the all-time series with the Bruins. It was Chattanooga’s third-straight win over Belmont.
Up next for the Mocs is a pair of Southern Conference matches this weekend. UTC travels to Samford on Friday before hosting Mercer on Sunday at the UTC Tennis Center.
Chattanooga 5, Belmont 2
4/5/2021 at Nashville, Tenn. (Belmont Tennis Complex)
Doubles competition
1. Tomas Rodriguez/Peyton Gatti (UTC) def. Marko Ilic/Taisei Miyamoto (BELM) 6-3
2. Tomas Luis/Diego Castro (BELM) vs. Turner Voges/Simon Labbe (UTC) 4-5, unfinished
3. Kerim Hyatt/Kaisei Kuroki (UTC) def. Arthur Toledo/Jake Briggs (BELM) 6-2
Singles competition
1. Tomas Rodriguez (UTC) def. Marko Ilic (BELM) 7-6 (7-5), 6-4
2. Arthur Toledo (BELM) def. Turner Voges (UTC) 6-1, 6-1
3. Tomas Luis (BELM) def. Kerim Hyatt (UTC) 7-5, 6-2
4. Simon Labbe (UTC) def. Diego Castro (BELM) 6-4, 3-6, 6-0
5. Jeffrey Dewald (UTC) def. Taisei Miyamoto (BELM) 6-3, 6-2
6. Jacob Marshall (UTC) def. Alfred Wallin (BELM) 7-6 (7-3), 6-3