The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's tennis team pulled out a 4-0 win over Mercer in the opening round of the Southern Conference Tournament at the Champions Club in Chattanooga today.  The Mocs move on to face top-seeded Furman in tomorrow's semifinals. 

"That was a battle," stated head coach Chad Camper. "We knew going in, it was going to be a difficult match.  We only won 4-3 just a couple of weeks ago."

UTC won the opening doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 2.  Mercer took the No. 3 doubles match to open the dual.  Junior Caroline Hall and freshman Bogdana Zaporozhets posted a 6-2 win at No. 2 to even the doubles. 

Trailing 4-3 at No. 1, freshman Emma Van Hee and senior Samantha Caswell broke Grace Korta's serve to tie the match at 4-4.  UTC held serve to go up 5-4, then broke Katie Sidor for the 6-4 win claiming the doubles point.

"I thought Bogdana and Caroline did a great job at No. 2 doubles, and Samantha and Emma just keep leading the team at No. 1," continued Camper.

Needing only three singles wins to clinch the team victory, the Mocs jumped ahead with first-set victories at No. 3, No. 5 and No. 6.  Junior Delaney Edwards snapped a five-match slide with her 6-2, 6-4 triumph at No. 3.  Van Hee won her fourth in a row 6-1, 6-4 at No. 5, while Zaporozhets clinched the match with her fifth straight win at No. 6 (6-3, 6-4). 

"I was really proud of Delaney Edwards," added Camper.  "She has had a tough year and I had to put her down at No. 3 today, but she took care of business.  It was a great day and Bogdana pulled it out for us to win the match."

The win moves the Mocs to 10-7 overall.  It is the ninth year in a row UTC has finished with at least 10 wins.

First serve for tomorrow's semifinal match against Furman is set for 2:00 p.m. (E.D.T.) at the Champions Club.  A link for live scoring is available on the women's tennis schedule page on GoMocs.com. 

Chattanooga 4, Mercer 0
4/20/2018 at Chattanooga, Tenn. (Champions Club)
Doubles competition
1. Samantha Caswell/Emma Van Hee (UTC) def. Katie Sidor/Grace Korta (MER) 6-4
2. Caroline Hall/Bogdana Zaporozhets (UTC) def. Christie Cesarini/Celine Schepers (MER) 6-2
3. Marie Mottet/Anna Sovic (MER) def. Delaney Edwards/Annie Tarwater (UTC) 6-3

Singles competition
1. Samantha Caswell (UTC) vs. Katie Sidor (MER) 6-7 (1-7), 3-0, unfinished
2. Caroline Hall (UTC) vs. Marie Mottet (MER) 3-6, 2-4, unfinished
3. Delaney Edwards (UTC) def. Celine Schepers (MER) 6-2, 6-4
4. Tamri Chalaganidze (UTC) vs. Grace Korta (MER) 4-6, 1-2, unfinished
5. Emma Van Hee (UTC) def. Maeva Roquebert (MER) 6-1, 6-4
6. Bogdana Zaporozhets (UTC) def. Anna Sovic (MER) 6-3, 6-4

Match Notes
Mercer 10-12
Chattanooga 10-7
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (5,3,6)
T-2:13