The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team dropped a 7-0 match at No. 22 Alabama to close out the opening weekend tonight. 

UTC battled in doubles, nearly pulling out the point.  Alabama took the No. 1 match (6-2), but the other two were very tight. 

"The team battled on the road tonight against a very good, and nationally ranked Crimson Tide," stated head coach Chuck Merzbacher.  "The doubles was super close, and came down to a few points.

"Our kids battled back and got back in each singles match. Looking forward to more matches, as we get stronger with each time out."

Sophomore Luke Plaisted and senior Pablo Llebeili lost in a tie breaker (7-6) at No. 3.  Juniors Niklas Gerdes and Simon Bustamante were tied at 6-6 in their match at No. 2 when the point was decided. 

The Mocs could not take a set off of the Crimson Tide in singles.  UTC fell to 0-2 on the year. 

Up next for the Mocs is a trip to Presbyterian College on Sunday, Jan. 27.  The Mocs take on the Blue Hose at 11:00 a.m. (E.S.T.) in Clinton, S.C.

#22 Alabama 7, Chattanooga 0
1/19/2019 at Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Roberta Alison Indoor)
Singles competition
1. #24 Mazen Osama (UA) def. Niklas Gerdes (UTC) 6-3, 6-1
2. Edson Ortiz (UA) def. Tomas Rodriguez (UTC) 6-3, 6-2
3. Alexey Nesterov (UA) def. Kerim Hyatt (UTC) 6-4, 7-6 (7-5)
4. Zhe Zhou (UA) def. Luke Plaisted (UTC) 6-1, 7-5
5. Jeremy Gschwendtner (UA) def. Pablo Llebeili (UTC) 6-1, 7-5
6. Riccardo Roberto (UA) def. Kaisei Kuroki (UTC) 6-0, 6-3

Doubles competition
1. Patrick Kaukovalta/Edson Ortiz (UA) def. Kerim Hyatt/Tomas Rodriguez (UTC) 6-2
2. Thibault Cancel/Alexey Nesterov (UA) vs. Niklas Gerdes/Simon Bustamante (UTC) 6-6, unfinished
3. Sam Fischer/Riccardo Roberto (UA) def. Luke Plaisted/Pablo Llebeili (UTC) 7-6 (7-3)

Match Notes
Chattanooga 0-2
Alabama 2-0; National ranking #22
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (6,1,4,5,2,3)
T-2:30 A-205