The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's tennis team improved to 8-1 with a sweep of visiting Mercer today.  The Lady Mocs dropped the Bears 7-0 in less than three hours for the non-conference win at the UTC Tennis Courts. 

Mercer only traveled five players for the match, so UTC was up 1-0 before the first serve.  Seniors Brianna Wishing (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) and Emily Hangstefer (Signal Mountain, Tenn.) clinched the doubles point with an 8-3 win over Amanda Bertani and Sarah Hanna at No. 2.  Wishing and Hangstefer improved to 4-1 in the spring as a doubles tandem. 

Sophomore Alexa Flynn (Memphis, Tenn.) and Shaina Singh (Vancouver, B.C.) completed the doubles sweep with their 8-3 win over Melanie Schumilas and Lucie Payrat at No. 1. 

Up 2-0, Chattanooga dominated the 2-5 singles matches.  UTC won all in straight sets and only lost two games in those four matches.  Senior Charlotte Bossy (Koekelare, Belgium) improved to 4-1 in the spring with a (6-0, 6-0) win at No. 6 over Katherine Cooper.

Flynn was next off the court with a (6-1, 6-1) win over Schumilas at No. 2.  She moves to 12-4 overall and 6-2 in the spring with her third straight win.  Freshman Kaylene Chadwell (Franklin, Tenn.) followed with a (6-0, 6-0) win over Bertani at No. 3.  She is now 11-7 and 6-3 in the spring, and also has a three-match winning streak. 

Freshman Claire Mulyadi (Semarang Indonesia) posted a (6-0, 6-0) win of her own over Hanna at No. 4.  She is undefeated in singles play at 5-0 since joining the team in January. 

The only contested match was at No. 1 between Payrat and UTC senior Jenna Nurik (Roswell, Ga.).  They were locked in a tough first set that was still undecided when the other four matches were completed.  With her teammates cheering her on, Nurik fought off three set points to win the tiebreak 12-10.  She then won the second set 6-3 to take the match.  Nurik improves to 16-4 overall and 8-1 in the spring with her sixth straight win at No. 1. 

"It was good to see everyone get to play and everyone get a win," stated head coach Jeff Clark.  "We now have to turn our attention on conference play and a very tough opponent on Friday." 

The Lady Mocs host the College of Charleston on Friday, March 9, at 2:00 p.m. on the UTC Tennis Courts.  UTC has not defeated the Cougars (4-2, 0-0 SoCon) since 2002, dropping the last nine meetings.  Chattanooga has not scored more than a point in any match since a 4-3 loss in 2004. 

UTC also hosts Georgia Southern (4-4, 1-0 SoCon) this weekend.  That match is set for Sunday, March 11, at Noon on the UTC Tennis Courts.  Live scoring links for both matches this weekend are available on the women's tennis schedule page on GoMocs.com. 

Chattanooga 7, Mercer 0
Doubles competition
1. Alexa Flynn/Shaina Singh (UTC) def. Melanie Schumilas/Lucie Payrat (MER) - 8-3
2. Brianna Wishing/Emily Hangstefer (UTC) def. Amanda Bertani/Sarah Hanna (MER) - 8-3
3. Charlotte Bossy/Claire Mulyadi (UTC) def. Jennifer Lada/Katherine Cooper (MER), by forfeit

Singles competition
1. Jenna Nurik (UTC) def. Lucie Payrat (MER) - 7-6 (12-10), 6-3
2. Alexa Flynn (UTC) def. Melanie Schumilas (MER) - 6-1, 6-1
3. Kaylene Chadwell (UTC) def. Amanda Bertani (MER) - 6-0, 6-0
4. Claire Mulyadi (UTC) def. Sarah Hanna (MER) - 6-0, 6-0
5. Charlotte Bossy (UTC) def. Katherine Cooper (MER) - 6-0, 6-0
6. Brianna Wishing (UTC) def. Jennifer Lada (MER), by forfeit