Box Score The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's tennis team posted an impressive 6-1 win over visiting Appalachian State today. The Lady Mocs swept the doubles and scored five singles wins to improve to 12-4 overall and 4-3 in Southern Conference action. UTC's 12 wins are the most for the program since 2003.
"We had a great team win today over a very good Appalachian State team," stated head coach Jeff Clark. "The final score is somewhat deceiving. With the exception of No. 2 singles, every match was really, really close. We are very happy to get the win and I am proud of a great effort."
UTC took all three doubles matches, led by seniors Emily Hangstefer (Signal Mountain, Tenn.) and Shaina Singh's (Vancouver, B.C.) 8-5 win over Gabriela Celi and Gisela Fernandez at No. 2. Hangstefer and Singh are now 4-0 since teaming up in the second doubles slot.
Sophomore Alexa Flynn (Memphis, Tenn.) and freshman Kaylene Chadwell (Franklin, Tenn.) snapped a three-match slide with an 8-6 win over Jennifer Ansari and Ellie Linsell at No. 1. Junior Jenna Nurik (Roswell, Ga.) and freshman Claire Mulyadi (Semarang, Indonesia) improved to 3-1 as a duo with an 8-4 win over Blakeley Bean and Kim-Lea Dinh at No. 3.
Chattanooga quickly made it 2-0 when Flynn breezed through her match at No. 2. She defeated Ansari (6-4, 6-0) in less than an hour for her third straight win. She is 17-6 overall and 5-2 in SoCon action. Chadwell also scored a straight-set win, defeating Celi (7-5, 6-3) at No. 3. She is now 16-9 overall and also 5-2 in league matches.
The Lady Mocs held a 3-0 lead, but all four of the remaining matches were locked in three-set battles. Singh closed out the win with a dominating final two sets at No. 5. After falling in the opening frame 5-7 to Dinh, she won 12 consecutive games for a (5-7, 6-0, 6-0) win. She improves to 17-9 overall and is 7-3 in her last 10 matches.
"Shaina really fought hard today," added Clark. "It was nice for her to turn that match and get a come-from-behind win."
With the team victory in hand, the Lady Mocs were able to relax and focus on their individual play. Nurik defeated Linsell (7-5, 3-6, 6-4) at No. 1 and Hangstefer took out Thaggard (7-5, 3-6, 6-4) by the same score at No. 4. Hangstefer trailed 4-2 in the third set before rallying for her career-high-tying 16th win of the season. Mulyadi dropped her No. 6 six match against Gabby Gabriel (6-4, 3-6, 6-4) for ASU's (10-8, 3-4 SoCon) only point.
"Jenna also had a good day," stated Clark. "She lost to Linsell last year, so to get a win today was big for her."
Chattanooga is on the road next weekend at Western Carolina and Davidson. The Lady Mocs open with a trip to Cullowhee, N.C., to face the Catamounts on Friday, April 6, at 1:00 p.m. (E.D.T.). UTC then visits the Wildcats on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. in Davidson, N.C. The Lady Mocs final home match of the season is set for Wednesday, April 11, against Lee University. First serve is set for 2:00 p.m. on the UTC Tennis Courts and a link for live scoring will be available on GoMocs.com.
Chattanooga 6, Appalachian State 1
Doubles competition
1. Kaylene Chadwell/Alexa Flynn (UTC) def. Jennifer Ansari/Ellie Linsell (ASU) - 8-6
2. Emily Hangstefer/Shaina Singh (UTC) def. Gabriela Celi/Gisela Fernandez (ASU) - 8-5
3. Claire Mulyadi/Jenna Nurik (UTC) def. Blakeley Bean/Kim-Lea Dinh (ASU) - 8-4
Singles competition
1. Jenna Nurik (UTC) def. Ellie Linsell (ASU) - 7-5, 3-6, 6-4
2. Alexa Flynn (UTC) def. Jennifer Ansari (ASU) - 6-4, 6-0
3. Kaylene Chadwell (UTC) def. Gabriela Celi (ASU) - 7-5, 6-3
4. Emily Hangstefer (UTC) def. Jessica Thaggard (ASU) - 7-5, 3-6, 6-4
5. Shaina Singh (UTC) def. Kim-Lea Dinh (ASU) - 5-7, 6-0, 6-0
6. Gabby Gabriel (ASU) def. Claire Mulyadi (UTC) - 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
