University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis head coach Chuck Merzbacher announced the signing of Peyton Gatti to a National Letter of Intent this week.  Gatti is a four-star prep prospect from Whispering Pines, N.C.

"Peyton really has had an outstanding last six months of tennis," stated Merzbacher. "He moved up through the rankings in the South and Nationally. He won the 2019 Southern Doubles Championship, and won nine matches in the singles portion of the event."

Gatti's four-star ranking comes from TennisRecruiting.net, where he is also the No. 5 prospect from the state of North Carolina.  He is No. 31 in the Southeast and No. 158 in the nation.  He was also listed at No. 41 on the sites Hot 100 for the month of November.

"He is knocking on the door of being top 150 in his class," added Merzbacher. "He competed at the National Clay Courts and has held his own with the best in the nation

"Peyton really has an unlimited potential and has a chance of being a big time collegiate tennis player. He has a reputation of working very hard on his game which makes him a perfect fit for the Mocs.

An honor roll student, Gatti reached the Round of 32 at the Orange Bowl Tournament and was a four-time state L1 doubles champion. 

Peyton is the son of Jan and Mike Gatti.  His older brother, Kyle, played tennis at Greensboro College.  Peyton plans to major in Business Management at UTC. 

Gatti is the second signee for Merzbacher this fall.  The Mocs announced the addition of Tunnel Hill, Ga., native Jordan McClure earlier in the week. 

The Mocs return five starters to their 2020 spring lineup that includes three seniors on the roster.  UTC is coming off a 14-11 overall record in 2019, the most wins for the program since 2012.  UTC finished third in the SoCon at 4-3, its highest finish in the league's regular season since 1999.  Merzbacher also earned 2019 SoCon Coach of the Year honors.