CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The Chattanooga Mocs fell 4-3 to Southern Conference freshman Samford Tuesday afternoon at the Manker Patten Tennis Courts when rain forced play indoors.

The Mocs (1-14, 0-7 SoCon) took an early lead winning the doubles point with victories at Nos. 1 and 2. Peter Sauska and Pavel Vostrikov earned an 8-4 win over Kelwin DeWet and Brian Dushock as did Dakota Pate and Alex Butnarcuic at No. 2 over Samford's Oliver Reynolds and Carl Abalos. The Bulldogs improve to 5-11-1 and 2-3-1 in league action.

In singles, Samford tied the match with a 6-3, 6-0 win by Carson Kadi at No. 3 over Pate then went up 2-1 as Dushock defeated Butnarcuic 6-1, 6-2 at No. 4. The Mocs blasted back with back-to-back wins by Sauska and Vostrikov. Sauska won his No. 1 match 6-3, 6-2 over Richard Walsh and Vostrikov claimed a 6-4, 6-3 win at No. 2 over DeWet.

The Bulldogs would rally, however, winning the last two matches for the 4-3 win. Reynolds defeated Rick van de Bovenkamp 7-5, 6-2 at No. 5 and Sam Parfitt fell 6-3, 6-2 to Abalos at No. 6.

The Mocs return to action Sunday April, 5 at Wofford. The match is set to start at 2 p.m. in Spartanburg, S.C.

Samford vs Chattanooga

(Manker Patten Courts)

Samford 4, Chattanooga 3

Singles competition

1. Sauska, Peter (UTC) def. WALSH, Richard (SAM) 6-3, 6-2

2. Vostrikov, Pavel (UTC) def. DeWET, Kelwin (SAM) 6-4, 6-3

3. KADI, Carson (SAM) def. Pate, Dakota (UTC) 6-3, 6-0

4. DUSHOCK, Brian (SAM) def. Butnarcuic, Alexandr (UTC) 6-1, 6-2

5. REYNOLDS, Oliver (SAM) def. van de Bovenkamp, Ri (UTC) 7-5, 6-2

6. ABALOS, Carl (SAM) def. Parfitt, Sam (UTC) 6-3, 6-2

Doubles competition

1. Sauska, Peter/Vostrikov, Pavel (UTC) def. DeWET, Kelwin/DUSHOCK, Brian (SAM) 8-4

2. Pate, Dakota/Butnarcuic, Alexandr (UTC) def. REYNOLDS, Oliver/ABALOS, Carl (SAM) 8-4

3. WALSH, Richard/KADI, Carson (SAM) def. Parfitt, Sam/van de Bovenkamp, Ri (UTC) 8-6

Match Notes:

Samford 5-11-1, 2-3-1 SoCon

Chattanooga 1-14, 0-7 SoCon

T-5:01 A-22