Thursday, October 15
Knoxville, Tenn.
All Day
Chattanooga
vs
ITA Ohio Valley Regional
Senior Nick Wingord.
Photo by: Dale Rutemeyer
Mocs Win Three Singles Matches at ITA Regionals
10/15/2015 8:47:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Saunders to compete in consolation action Friday.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team posted three singles wins in the main draw on the opening day of the ITA Ohio Valley Regional in Knoxville, Tenn. Seniors John Peacey and Nick Wingord and junior Lucas Plesky all won their opening matches today.
"Winning three out of our first four matches was a great start," stated head coach Carlos Garcia. "Even Luke Saunders played well and was competitive in his loss."
Peacey opened with a (6-4, 6-4) win over Morehead State's Nick Mercer and Plesky defeated Eastern Kentucky's Diogo Soares (6-0, 6-2). Wingord's win came against Xavier's Jeremy Schneider (6-3, 6-2), while Saunders dropped his match to Tennessee Tech's Alvaro Esteban (6-4, 6-3).
In a field as loaded as the ITA Regionals, the further you advance, the tougher the competition. Peacey's day ended with a (6-0, 6-2) loss to ETSU's No. 4 seed and reigning Southern Conference Player of the Year David Biosca. Plesky lost to Indiana's top entrant and No. 15 seed Sam Monette (6-1, 6-0). Wingord closed out singles action with a (6-3, 6-4) loss to Kentucky's Williams Bushamuka.
"We ran into some big guns in the second round," added Garcia. "We will get better because we played against this level of competition. Even though it didn't go our way, we gained some valuable experience today."
UTC dropped both of their doubles matches against seeded opponents. Saunders is the only Moc still active in the tournament. He begins consolation play Friday at 10:00 a.m. (E.D.T.).
Doubles
(9) David Biosca/Rogerio Ribeiro (ETSU) def. Nick Wingord/Luke Saunders (UTC) – 8-0
(9) Ryan Smith/Baker Newman (Vandy) def. Lucas Plesky/John Peacey (UTC) – 8-5
Singles
Rd 1 – John Peacey (UTC) def. Nick Mercer (Morehead State) - 6-4, 6-4
Rd 2 – (4) David Biosca (ETSU) def. John Peacey (UTC) - 6-0, 6-2
Rd 1 – Lucas Plesky (UTC) def. Diogo Soares (EKU) - 6-0, 6-2
Rd 2 – (15) Sam Monette (Indiana) def. Lucas Plesky (UTC) - 6-1, 6-0
Rd 1 – Alvaro Esteban (TTU) def. Luke Saunders (UTC) - 6-4, 6-3
Rd 1 – Nick Wingord (UTC) def. Jeremy Schneider (Xavier) - 6-3, 6-2
Rd 2 – William Bushamuka (UK) def. Nick Wingord (UTC) - 6-3, 6-4
"Winning three out of our first four matches was a great start," stated head coach Carlos Garcia. "Even Luke Saunders played well and was competitive in his loss."
Peacey opened with a (6-4, 6-4) win over Morehead State's Nick Mercer and Plesky defeated Eastern Kentucky's Diogo Soares (6-0, 6-2). Wingord's win came against Xavier's Jeremy Schneider (6-3, 6-2), while Saunders dropped his match to Tennessee Tech's Alvaro Esteban (6-4, 6-3).
In a field as loaded as the ITA Regionals, the further you advance, the tougher the competition. Peacey's day ended with a (6-0, 6-2) loss to ETSU's No. 4 seed and reigning Southern Conference Player of the Year David Biosca. Plesky lost to Indiana's top entrant and No. 15 seed Sam Monette (6-1, 6-0). Wingord closed out singles action with a (6-3, 6-4) loss to Kentucky's Williams Bushamuka.
"We ran into some big guns in the second round," added Garcia. "We will get better because we played against this level of competition. Even though it didn't go our way, we gained some valuable experience today."
UTC dropped both of their doubles matches against seeded opponents. Saunders is the only Moc still active in the tournament. He begins consolation play Friday at 10:00 a.m. (E.D.T.).
Doubles
(9) David Biosca/Rogerio Ribeiro (ETSU) def. Nick Wingord/Luke Saunders (UTC) – 8-0
(9) Ryan Smith/Baker Newman (Vandy) def. Lucas Plesky/John Peacey (UTC) – 8-5
Singles
Rd 1 – John Peacey (UTC) def. Nick Mercer (Morehead State) - 6-4, 6-4
Rd 2 – (4) David Biosca (ETSU) def. John Peacey (UTC) - 6-0, 6-2
Rd 1 – Lucas Plesky (UTC) def. Diogo Soares (EKU) - 6-0, 6-2
Rd 2 – (15) Sam Monette (Indiana) def. Lucas Plesky (UTC) - 6-1, 6-0
Rd 1 – Alvaro Esteban (TTU) def. Luke Saunders (UTC) - 6-4, 6-3
Rd 1 – Nick Wingord (UTC) def. Jeremy Schneider (Xavier) - 6-3, 6-2
Rd 2 – William Bushamuka (UK) def. Nick Wingord (UTC) - 6-3, 6-4
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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