For the first time in recent memory, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team has an individual in the quarterfinals of the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships.  Junior Niklas Gerdes won twice today to advance to Sunday's final eight in the singles main draw in Knoxville, Tenn. 

Gerdes had a marathon day, opening in doubles with junior Simon Bustamante.  They dropped a tough match to Butler's Michael Dickson and Adrian Mag in a tiebreaker [8-7 (5)].

In singles, Gerdes began with a three-set win against fifth-seeded Jordan Benjamin (4-6, 6-3, 6-4).  After dropping the opening set, Gerdes battled back to knock off the No. 77 player in the country. 

He followed that with another three-set win against Kentucky's No. 26 seed Theo McDonald [2-6, 6-0, 7-6 (5)]. Again, Gerdes lost the first set only to bounce back and take the next two.

"Those were two really good matches for Niklas," stated UTC men's tennis head coach Chuck Merzbacher.  "He played seven sets of really tough tennis today and did it at a very high level.  That is a big credit to his conditioning and mental toughness." 

Gerdes takes on Indiana's No. 19 seed Zac Brodney in tomorrow's quarterfinals.  That match is slated for 11:00 a.m. (E.D.T.) at the Knoxville Racquet Club. 

Freshman Tomas Rodriguez nearly pulled off another upset, falling in three sets to seventh-seeded Scott Jones of Tennessee (4-6, 6-1, 6-2).  Rodriguez took the opening frame but could not close out the win before falling in three. 

Sophomore Cooper Long and freshman Kerim Hyatt posted wins in the consolation bracket.  Long defeated Northern Kentucky's Chris Murray [4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (8)], while Hyatt beat Belmont's Zak Khan (6-2, 6-2). 

Be sure to check back to GoMocs.com tomorrow for a full list of results. 

Singles Results
Niklas Gerdes (UTC) def. (5) Jordan Benjamin (Dayton) – 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Niklas Gerdes (UTC) def. (26) Theo McDonald (Kentucky) – 2-6, 6-0, 7-6 (2)
(7) Scott Jones (Tennessee) def. Tomas Rodriguez (UTC) – 4-6, 6-1, 6-2

Doubles Results
Michael Dickson/Adrian Mag (Butler) def. (7) Niklas Gerdes/Simon Bustamante (UTC) – 8-7 (5)

Consolation Action
Cooper Long (UTC) def. Chris Murray (NKU) – 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (8)
Marshall Sullivan (Memphis) def. Pablo Llebeili (UTC) – 6-1, 3-6, 1-0 (9)
Clement Filho (Louisville) def. Jacob Marshall (UTC) – 6-1, 6-1
Kerim Hyatt (UTC) def. Zak Khan (Belmont) – 6-2, 6-2
Max Rauch (MTSU) def. Luke Plaisted (UTC) – 6-2, 6-4