Box Score The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's tennis team suffered its first loss of the season, falling 4-3 at Middle Tennessee today. They Lady Mocs are still off to their best start since 1991 with a 4-1 overall record while the Blue Raiders improved to 5-3.
UTC had lost 12-straight to MTSU coming into today's match, with their last win in the series dating back to 1999. UTC got off to a solid start, sweeping the doubles matches to take a 1-0 lead. The Lady Mocs switched things up, fielding three new doubles teams.
Seniors Emily Hangstefer (Signal Mountain, Tenn.) and Brianna Wishing (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) were the first to post a win. They defeated Taylor Coffey and Alex Dachos 8-3 at No. 3. Wishing saw her first action of the spring in front of her hometown crowd.
Senior Shaina Singh and junior Jenna Nurik (Roswell, Ga.) clinched the point with a win at No. 2 while sophomore Alexa Flynn (Memphis, Tenn.) and Kaylene Chadwell (Franklin, Tenn.) completed the sweep at No. 1.
"We started off strong winning the doubles points," stated head coach Jeff Clark. "We knew we needed to get a lead early to give ourselves a chance at the end."
The singles matches would prove to be a marathon with five going to three sets. UTC looked to take control of the dual, winning the first set in four of the six singles. Nurik was one of two Lady Mocs to fall behind early, but she rebounded for a three-set win (2-6, 6-4, 6-1) over Yuri Nomoto. That gave UTC a 2-0 lead in the team score.
"Jenna played really well today," added Clark. "She fought back and won against an opponent who had beaten her three times before."
MTSU got on the board when Singh lost to Marietta Bigus at No. 5 (7-6, 7-5). Lexi Brand tied the match with a (5-7, 7-5, 6-4) win over Flynn at No. 2. Hangstefer dominated her first set over Nayara Moraes, but could not close out the match. She eventually lost (1-6, 6-3, 6-4) at No. 4 as the Lady Mocs fell behind 3-2.
Freshman Claire Mulyadi (Semarang, Indonesia), playing in her first collegiate match after joining the team in January, had a huge win at No. 6. She tied the score with a (7-5, 3-6, 6-4) in over Coffey.
That left Chadwell's No. 3 match with Flavia Nagayama as the decider. Chadwell took the first set, 6-4, but dropped the second 6-4. She was up 4-3 in the third but Flavia won the last three games to take the win.
"You have to give credit to MTSU," said Clark. "Three of the singles matches they won, we were up a set. We battled hard today against a good team and in the end, we will be tougher for it. We just have to stay focused and get ready for Kennesaw State on Saturday."
The Lady Mocs host the Owls at the Champions Club in Chattanooga on Feb. 25 at 1:00 p.m. (E.S.T.). This will be a double-header with the men's teams and live scoring for both matches will be available on GoMocs.com.
Middle Tennessee 4, Chattanooga 3
Doubles competition
1. Kaylene Chadwell/Alexa Flynn (UTC) def. Bigus, Marietta/Brand, Lexi (MT) - 8-4
2. Jenna Nurik/Shaina Singh (UTC) def. Moraes, Nayara/Nomoto, Yuiri (MT) - 8-4
3. Emily Hangstefer/Brianna Wishing (UTC) def. Coffey, Taylor/Dachos, Alex (MT) - 8-3
Singles competition
1. Jenna Nurik (UTC) def. Nomoto, Yuiri (MT) - 2-6, 6-4, 6-1
2. Brand, Lexi (MT) def. Alexa Flynn (UTC) - 5-7, 7-5, 6-4
3. Nagayama, Flavia (MT) def. Kaylene Chadwell (UTC) - 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
4. Moraes, Nayara (MT) def. Emily Hangstefer (UTC) - 1-6, 6-3, 6-4
5. Bigus, Marietta (MT) def. Shaina Singh (UTC) - 7-6 (7-5), 7-5
6. Claire Mulyadi (UTC) def. Coffey, Taylor (MT) - 7-5, 3-6, 6-4
