Box Score The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team dropped a tough 4-3 match to Austin Peay at McCallie's Strang-Voges Tennis Center tonight.  The Mocs won the doubles point, but only managed two singles wins in the hard-fought battle.

This is the fifth year in a row these two teams have played a 4-3 match.  Chattanooga took last year's meeting, but today's win gave Austin Peay four of the last five results. 

"I felt like our team competed really hard and discovered a little more about ourselves by being under this kind of pressure," stated UTC head coach Carlos Garcia. 

Chattanooga (0-3) opened by winning No. 1 and No. 3 doubles.  Sophomore Paul Lahue and freshman Simon Bustamante were impressive in their 6-2 victory at No. 3.  Senior Nic Wilson and freshman Niklas Gerdes were also strong in their 6-4 win at No. 1. 

The two teams split the first-sets, with APSU (1-2) tying the match after winning at No. 1.  The Mocs went back up 2-1 when Bustamante won in straight-sets at No. 4.  Austin Peay took the next two at No. 3 and No. 2 for a 3-2 lead.  Junior Michael Birnbaum evened the match with a three-set win at No. 6. 

That left freshman Max Grobbelaar in a battle at No. 5 with Austin Peay's Alex Kartsonis.  Grobbelaar won the first set 7-5, but Kartsonis came back with a 6-2 win in the second.  Grobbelaar tried to get the win in the third before falling 7-5.

"I give credit to Austin Peay," added Garcia.  "They have a very good top of the lineup and I think that is where they hurt us. I am proud of the fact that our lower guys gave us a chance and our doubles was fantastic." 

"All in all I think it was a great match for our team, but we definitely need to learn from it going forward so we can punch through that fourth point tomorrow." 

Up next for the Mocs is a Noon dual with Belmont tomorrow at McCallie.  Live scoring is available on GoMocs.com. 

Austin Peay 4, Chattanooga 3
Jan 28, 2017 at Chattanooga, Tenn. (Strang-Voges Tennis Center)
Doubles competition
1. Nic Wilson/Niklas Gerdes (UTC) def. Almantas Ozelis/Aleh Drobysh (APSU) 6-4
2. Aaron Jumonville/Manual Montenegro (APSU) def. Michael Birnbaum/Max Grobbelaar (UTC) 6-4
3. Simon Bustamante/Paul LaHue (UTC) def. Chad Woodham/Alex Kartsonis (APSU) 6-2

Singles competition
1. Manual Montenegro (APSU) def. Nic Wilson (UTC) 6-4, 6-3
2. Almantas Ozelis (APSU) def. Niklas Gerdes (UTC) 6-4, 7-5
3. Aaron Jumonville (APSU) def. Pablo Llebeili (UTC) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
4. Simon Bustamante (UTC) def. Aleh Drobysh (APSU) 6-4, 6-4
5. Alex Kartsonis (APSU) def. Max Grobbelaar (UTC) 5-7, 6-2, 7-5
6. Michael Birnbaum (UTC) def. James Mitchell (APSU) 6-2, 3-6, 7-5

Match Notes
Austin Peay 1-3
Chattanooga 0-3
Order of finish: Doubles (13,2); Singles (1,4,3,2,6,5)
T-2:58 A-52