The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team dropped a 6-1 match to UNCG to close out the regular season at the Champions Club today.  Chattanooga (8-15, 1-6 SoCon) won the opening doubles point, but lost all six singles matches to the Spartans (11-10, 4-3 SoCon).

The Mocs opened the match by taking a hotly contested doubles point.  Sophomore Niklas Gerdes and freshman Luke Plaisted made quick work of Marcus Vidgren and Logan Walker (6-1) at No. 2.  However the other two matches were very tight. 

Sophomore Simon Bustamante and freshman Jacob Marshall battled Connor Thompson and Niko Grewe before dropping a 6-4 match at No. 1.  That left junior Pablo Llebeili and freshman Cooper Long on the court in a back-and-forth match at No. 3 against Jack Burkill and Ollie Palmer.

Up 6-5, Long and Llebeili needed two match points to put away the Spartan duo (7-5) for the 1-0 lead in the team race.  It was the first time in Southern Conference action the Mocs had won the doubles point since The Citadel match on Feb. 23. 

The Mocs could not hold the momentum going into singles as UNCG took five of the six opening sets.  Marshall fought off an illness in doubles, but was unable to go in singles.  That moved Long up to No. 5 and put junior Paul Lahue in the lineup at No. 6 for the first time this spring. 

The Spartans took advantage and went on to win five matches in straight sets.  Bustamante won his first set, but eventually lost in three.
Up next for the Mocs is the SoCon Tournament in Chattanooga on April 20-22 at the Champions Club.  Be sure to check back to GoMocs.com for seeding and match times. 

UNCG 6, Chattanooga 1
04/14/2018 at Chattanooga, Tenn. (Champions Club)
Doubles competition
1. Connor Thompson/Nico Grewe (UNCG) def. Simon Bustamante/Jacob Marshall (UTC) 6-4
2. Niklas Gerdes/Luke Plaisted (UTC) def. Marcus Vidgren/Logan Walker (UNCG) 6-1
3. Pablo Llebeili/Cooper Long (UTC) def. Jack Burkill/Ollie Palmer (UNCG) 7-5

Singles competition
1. Connor Thompson (UNCG) def. Niklas Gerdes (UTC) 6-2, 6-2
2. Ollie Palmer (UNCG) def. Simon Bustamante (UTC) 5-7, 7-6 (8-6), 1-0 (10-6)
3. Marcus Vidgren (UNCG) def. Pablo Llebeili (UTC) 6-3, 6-3
4. Nico Grewe (UNCG) def. Luke Plaisted (UTC) 6-3, 6-4
5. Ian Melnik (UNCG) def. Cooper Long (UTC) 6-1, 6-4
6. Jack Burkill (UNCG) def. Paul LaHue (UTC) 6-2, 6-3

Match Notes
UNCG 11-10, 4-3 SoCon
Chattanooga 8-15, 1-6 SoCon
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (3,6,4,5,1,2)
T-2:31 A-27