The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team scored six wins on the first day of the UTC Steve Baras Fall Classic at the Champions Club.  Freshman Simon Bustamante led the Mocs with a pair of singles wins.

Bustamante opened with a three-set (4-6, 6-4, 6-2) victory against Eastern Kentucky's Dan Lineberry in the No. 2 singles bracket.  He followed that with another three-setter (4-6, 6-4, 6-2) against Kennesaw State's Sam Slade.

Sophomore Pablo Llebeili also battled to a three-set win in the No. 3 draw.  He defeated EKU's Romain Stoffels (6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (2)) in his first match of the day.  

Freshman Max Grobbelaar and junior Michael Birnbaum posted the other two singles wins.  Grobbelaar defeated EKU's Colin Hart (6-4, 6-4) in his only singles match in the No. 5 draw.  Birnbaum took out Mercer's Sam Fried (6-2, 6-2) in the No. 7 bracket.

"Simon and Max both played great tennis today," stated UTC head coach Carlos Garcia.  It was another positive stepping stone in the development of our team.  We improved today, which makes me very proud, and most importantly we are excited to get back out on the courts tomorrow."

Chattanooga took one of three doubles match when Birnbaum and Grobbelaar won at No. 2 over EKU's Stoffels and Dan Lineberry (6-4).  Llebeili and sophomore Paul LaHue dropped a tough one at No. 3.  They lost to Mercer's Phillip Johnston and Colin Mark in a tiebreaker (7-6 (5)).

"The morning doubles matches were very competitive," added Garcia.  "Michael and Max had a solid doubles win in Division 2 over EKU. I was excited to see us build our confidence in winning 4 out of the 7 morning singles matches."

Action concludes tomorrow at the Champions Club. Play begins with doubles at 8:30 a.m. (E.D.T.), followed by singles at 11:00.  Check back to GoMocs.com for complete results. 

Chattanooga Results
Sebastian Mueller (EKU) def. Derrick Brown (UTC) – 6-0, 2-6, 6-3
Fermin Calvo (KSU) def. Derrick Brown (UTC) – 6-3, 6-3
Simon Bustamante (UTC) def. Dan Lineberry (EKU) – 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
Simon Bustamante (UTC) def. Sam Slade (KSU) – 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
Pablo Llebeili (UTC) def. Romain Stoffels (EKU) – 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (2)
Drew Wendel (KSU) def. Pablo Llebeili (UTC) – 6-2, 6-1
Diego Asis (EKU) def. Paul LaHue (UTC) – 6-1, 7-6 (4)
David Durham (KSU) def. Paul LaHue (UTC) – 6-0, 6-2
Max Grobbelaar (UTC) def. Colin Hart (EKU) – 6-4, 6-4
Sachin Kurana (Mercer) def. Austin Boaz (UTC) – 6-4, 6-3
Drew Lahey (KSU) def. Austin Boaz (UTC) – 4-6, 6-1, 6-0
Michael Birnbaum (UTC) def. Sam Fried (Mercer) – 6-2, 6-2
Harrison Wood (KSU) def. Michael Birnbaum (UTC) – 7-6 (3), 6-2

Sebastian Mueller/Diego Asis (EKU) def. Derrick Brown/Austin Boaz (UTC) – 6-1
Michael Birnbaum/Max Grobbelaar (UTC) def. Dan Lineberry/Romain Stoffels (EKU) – 6-4
Phillip Johnston/Colin Mark (Mercer) def. Pablo Llebeili/Paul LaHue (UTC) – 7-6 (5)