Box Score The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team picked up its first win of the season in a big way tonight.  The Mocs scored a 4-2 victory over Tennessee Tech, the defending Ohio Valley Conference Champions. 

"This was a huge win for us," stated head coach Carlos Garcia.  "It is tough to describe the feeling after having such a tough start to the season.  I am glad to see the guys experience some success after all of the hard work they have put in."

Chattanooga jumped out early, taking the first two doubles matches for a 1-0 lead.  Senior Lucas Plesky and freshman Simon Bustamante opened with a 6-4 win over Eduardo Mena and Alberto Esteban at No. 1.  Senior Derrick Brown and junior Michael Birnbaum clinched the point with their 7-5 win over Jorge Alfonzo and Guillermo Nicolas at No. 3. 

Singles started out even with both teams taking three first sets.  Mena tied the score with a (6-2, 6-1) win over Plesky at No. 1.  Freshman Max Grobbelaar quickly responded with a (6-0, 6-1) win over Carlos Taejas at No. 6. 

The Mocs went up 3-1 when sophomore Pablo Llebeili defeated Marc Mila (7-5, 6-2) at No. 4.  UTC needed one more win on the night to clinch the match, but the last three were all tight.

Freshman Niklas Gerdes lost his first set to Esteban 6-1 at No. 2.  He battled back to take the second frame 6-1.  Leading 4-2 in the third, he broke Esteban again to take a 5-2 advantage.  He then served out for the win and the team victory.

"Nik is a very mature freshman," added Garcia.  "He beat a very good senior when we really needed him to step up.  He has already had some big wins and I expect him to keep improving as the season progresses." 

TTU won at No. 3 and the No. 5 match did not finish.  Chattanooga improved to 1-4 on the year while the Golden Eagles dropped to 1-1. 

Next up for the Mocs is a Sunday match against former Southern Conference foe Georgia Southern (1-2).  First serve is set for 10:00 a.m. (E.S.T.) at the Racquet Club in Hixson.  Find a link for live scoring on the men's tennis schedule page on GoMocs.com.

Chattanooga 4, Tennessee Tech 2
Feb 03, 2017 at Chattanooga, Tenn. (Racquet Club)
Doubles competition
1. Lucas Plesky/Simon Bustamante (UTC) def. MENA, Eduardo/ESTEBAN, Alberto (TTU) 6-4
2. BERNARDES, Marcos/TAJES, Carlos (TTU) vs. Niklas Gerdes/Nic Wilson (UTC) no result
3. Michael Birnbaum/Derrick Brown (UTC) def. ALFONZO, Jorge/NICOLAS, Guillermo (TTU) 7-5

Singles competition
1. MENA, Eduardo (TTU) def. Lucas Plesky (UTC) 6-2, 6-4
2. Niklas Gerdes (UTC) def. ESTEBAN, Alberto (TTU) 1-6, 6-1, 6-2
3. BERNARDES, Marcos (TTU) def. Nic Wilson (UTC) 6-2, 5-7, 6-3
4. Pablo Llebeili (UTC) def. MILA, Marc (TTU) 7-5, 6-2
5. Simon Bustamante (UTC) vs. ALFONZO, Jorge (TTU) 7-6 (15-13), 6-7 (8-10), unfinished
6. Max Grobbelaar (UTC) def. TAJES, Carlos (TTU) 6-0, 6-1
 
Match Notes
Tennessee Tech 1-1
Chattanooga 1-4
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (1,6,4,2,3)