The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's tennis team won its third straight match, 6-1, over Western Carolina today.  Rain forced the match to the indoor courts at the Hixson Racquet Club as the Lady Mocs improved to 5-4 overall and 2-1 in the Southern Conference.  

"I am proud of the team for getting a convincing Southern Conference win," stated head coach Jeff Clark.  "We just went out and took care of business and got the job done.  We are happy to be on a three-match winning streak and will look to keep it up next week."

For the second time in a row, Chattanooga took the court against a team that could only field five players.  As a result, UTC took the first doubles match at No. 3.  They secured their second-straight doubles point when junior Shaina Singh (Vancouver, B.C.) and sophomore Jenna Nurik (Roswell, Ga.) posted an 8-5 win at No. 2. 

Junior Emily Hangstefer (Signal Mountain, Tenn.) and freshman Alexa Flynn (Memphis, Tenn.) made it a doubles sweep with their 8-5 win at No. 1. 

The Lady Mocs went up 2-0 with the forfeit at No. 6 singles.  Senior Annie Green (Alpharetta, Ga.) won her second straight 6-0, 6-1 over Katie Barry.  Green improved to 6-4, including 2-1 in spring action with her win today. 

Hangstefer clinched the match with a 6-2, 6-0 win over Ainhoa Iglesias Diaz at No. 3.  Hangstefer has now won two straight after snapping a six-match slide.  "Emily had a very solid day in singles and doubles," added Clark.   

Singh and Nurik also won at No. 4 and No. 1, respectively.  Both reached double figures in wins as they are each 10-9 on the year.  Both have won three in a row.  Flynn dropped the lone point for Chattanooga, falling to Carolina Lainez 7-5, 6-2 at No. 2.

The Lady Mocs are off to their best start in over 10 years.  The last time the Lady Mocs were above .500 this early in the year was 1999 when they began the year 8-4. 

UTC hits the road for the next three matches, beginning with a trip to Lipscomb on March 8.  The Lady Mocs return home on March 23 to face Lee University at the UTC Tennis Courts.  Live scoring will be available for the match with the Flames on GoMocs.com. 

Chattanooga 6, Western Carolina 1
Mar 05, 2011 at Chattanooga, Tenn. (Hixson Racquet Club)
Doubles competition
1. Emily Hangstefer-Alexa Flynn (UTC) def. Carolina Lainez-Ainhoa Iglesias Diaz (WCU) - 8-5
2. Jenna Nurik-Shaina Singh (UTC) def. K. Jimenez Sarmiento-Izabella Glinska (WCU) - 8-5
3. Annie Green-Charlotte Bossy (UTC) won by forfeit

Singles competition
1. Jenna Nurik (UTC) def. Izabella Glinska (WCU) - 7-6 (7-4), 5-7, 1-0 (10-6)
2. Carolina Lainez (WCU) def. Alexa Flynn (UTC) - 7-5, 6-2
3. Emily Hangstefer (UTC) def. Ainhoa Iglesias Diaz (WCU) - 6-2, 6-0
4. Shaina Singh (UTC) def. K. Jimenez Sarmiento (WCU) - 6-3, 6-2
5. Annie Green (UTC) def. Katie Barry (WCU) - 6-0, 6-1
6. Charlotte Bossy (UTC) won by forfeit