The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s tennis team swept a Sunday doubleheader at the Guerry Tennis Center at Chattanooga’s Baylor School today. The Mocs defeated North Dakota (7-0) and Lee (6-1) to improve to 6-4 overall.
Sunday’s wins capped off a 3-0 weekend for UTC that included a 5-2 victory at Lipscomb on Friday night. Below are full recaps from today’s action.
Chattanooga 7 – North Dakota 0 – by Annie Tarwater
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s tennis team started today’s doubleheader off strong with a 7-0 sweep over the University of North Dakota.
It was the Mocs’ second win in a row to move their overall record to 5-4.
Junior Niklas Gerdes and freshman Tomas Rodriguez set the tone early in the doubles by getting a 6-0 win at the No. 2 position. The Fighting Hawks came back to even the doubles point to 1-1, just before junior Simon Bustamante and freshman Kerim Hyatt clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 win at the No. 1 doubles position.
The momentum of the doubles play carried on to the singles matches, with Bustamante earning a short and sweet 6-0, 6-2 win at No. 4 to put the team up 2-0. Shortly after, Hyatt earned a 6-2, 6-4 victory at No. 3.
Gerdes was in control of his match at the No. 1 singles spot and clinched with a 6-2, 6-3 win. Senior Pablo Llebeili earned a quick 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 5 spot to keep his six match winning streak alive.
Meanwhile, Rodriguez was in a gritty third set and eventually pulled out the win at the No. 2 spot 6-0, 4-6, 7-5 after being down 5-4 in the third.
The Mocs were then up 6-0, with sophomore Cooper Long still on court for his first dual singles match. It came down to the wire with a 7-6 (5), 5-7, 1-0 (4) win by Long to give the Mocs the 7-0 victory.
Chattanooga 7, North Dakota 0
02/17/2019 at Chattanooga, Tenn. (Guerry Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. Niklas Gerdes (UTC) def. Nejc Sitar (UND) 6-2, 6-3
2. Tomas Rodriguez (UTC) def. Lukas Buth (UND) 6-0, 4-6, 7-5
3. Kerim Hyatt (UTC) def. Johnnie Carmichael (UND) 6-2, 6-4
4. Simon Bustamante (UTC) def. Jake Kuhlman (UND) 6-0, 6-2
5. Pablo Llebeili (UTC) def. Davide Callegari (UND) 6-2, 6-0
6. Cooper Long (UTC) def. Pavle Drobnjakovic (UND) 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 1-0 (10-4)
Doubles competition
1. Simon Bustamante/Kerim Hyatt (UTC) def. Nejc Sitar/Lukas Buth (UND) 6-4
2. Niklas Gerdes/Tomas Rodriguez (UTC) def. Johnnie Carmichael/Davide Callegari (UND) 6-0
3. Jake Kuhlman/Chuck Tang (UND) def. Pablo Llebeili/Jacob Marshall (UTC) 6-4
Chattanooga 6 – Lee 1
In the afternoon match against Lee, the Flames came out on fire at No. 3 doubles when Daniel Prata and Antonio Pons posted a 6-0 win over sophomores Cooper Long and Kaisei Kuroki. It was Long and Kuroki’s first match as a tandem this spring.
Both of the other doubles matches were very tight, but UTC was able to take the point. Junior Simon Bustamante and freshman Kerim Hyatt won 6-4 at No. 1, while junior Niklas Gerdes and freshman Tomas Rodriguez won by the same score at No. 2.
Gerdes put UTC up 2-0 with a quick win at No. 1 (6-1, 6-2) for his third-straight victory in the top spot. Lee cut into the lead with a three-set win at No. 4, but Rodriguez took the No. 2 match for a 3-1 lead. He was trailing 4-2 in the first set against Jesus Garcia before winning (7-5, 7-5). It was also Rodriguez’s third-straight win.
Senior Pablo Llebeili clinched the team win with a quick (6-1, 6-4) win at No. 5. He was down 4-1 in the second set before running off five consecutive games for his seventh win in a row.
Hyatt made it 5-1 with a three-set win over Prata at No. 3. It was Hyatt’s fourth win in a row as he improves to a team-best 13-8 on the season.
The last match of the day featured Long at No. 6. He quickly fell behind 4-1 against Bruno Medeiros, but went on to win 11 of the next 14 games to take the match (7-5, 6-2) for his second win of the day.
Up next for the Mocs is a doubleheader next Saturday, Feb. 23, against USC Upstate and Carson-Newman. Be sure to check GoMocs.com later in the week for specific times and locations.
Chattanooga 6, Lee University 1
02/17/2019 at Chattanooga, Tenn. (Guerry Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. Niklas Gerdes (UTC) def. Jake Okines (LEE) 6-1, 6-2
2. Tomas Rodriguez (UTC) def. Jesus Garcia (LEE) 7-5, 7-5
3. Kerim Hyatt (UTC) def. Daniel Prata (LEE) 6-4, 6-7 (6-8), 6-2
4. Antonio Pons (LEE) def. Simon Bustamante (UTC) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
5. Pablo Llebeili (UTC) def. Cristian Pons (LEE) 6-1, 6-4
6. Cooper Long (UTC) def. Bruno Medeiros (LEE) 7-5, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Simon Bustamante/Kerim Hyatt (UTC) def. Jake Okines/Bruno Medeiros (LEE) 6-4
2. Niklas Gerdes/Tomas Rodriguez (UTC) def. Jesus Garcia/Cristian Pons (LEE) 6-4
3. Daniel Prata/Antonio Pons (LEE) def. Cooper Long/Kaisei Kuroki (UTC) 6-0
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JAy Blackman, Ph. D.
Senior Associate Athletics Director – Strategic Communications
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
615 McCallie Ave., Dept. 3503
Chattanooga, TN 37403
Office - 423-425-5292
Mobile - 423-598-6953
@jayblackman40
www.GoMocs.com
www.Facebook.com/ChattanoogaMocs
www.Twitter.com/GoMocs
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