The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team pulled out a big 4-3 road win at Lipscomb tonight. The Mocs dropped the doubles point, but came back to win four singles matches to improve to 4-4 overall.

Lipscomb entered the match with a 3-3 record, including wins over Southern Conference foes Samford (4-1) and Furman (4-3).  UTC improved to 8-1 in the all-time series with the Bison.  Tonight's win was the first match between these two regional rivals since 2012. 

Chattanooga opened the dual with freshman Kerim Hyatt and junior Simon Bustamante taking the No. 1 doubles match against Pablo Caffarena and Victor Chaw (6-3).  Lipscomb evened the doubles when Jake Penny and Michael Tougher defeated senior Pablo Llebeili and sophomore Jacob Marshall (6-4) at No. 3.

The No. 2 match went to a tiebreaker, but Lipscomb's Pedro Uribe and Jorge Ortegon took the point against junior Niklas Gerdes and freshman Tomas Rodriguez [7-6 (3)].  The loss snapped a four-match winning streak for the UTC duo.

Chattanooga quickly turned the momentum back in its favor by winning all six first sets in singles play.  Gerdes tied the score at No. 1 with a (6-1, 6-4) win over Chaw.  Gerdes improved to 5-3 overall in the top spot. 

UTC went up 2-1 when Hyatt defeated Ortegon (7-6 (4), 6-3) at No. 3, but Lipscomb tied the match at No. 4.  Chattanooga moved back in front behind Rodriguez's (6-4, 6-3) win at No. 2 over Caffarena. 

With one more point needed to take the dual, the Mocs were in a fight at No. 5 and leading at No. 6.  Marshall had won his first set 6-0 at No. 5, but was pushed to a third frame against Penny. 

Llebeili, riding a four-match winning streak, won his first set 7-5 against David Skrabut at No. 6.  He clinched the match with a 6-3 win in the second set for his fifth win in a row.  Marshall would eventually lose in three sets to close out the dual. 

"What a fantastic team effort tonight," stated head coach Chuck Merzbacher. "After losing the doubles point, coming down to a tiebreaker, on the road...and then finding a way to win six first sets, we just wouldn't be denied. Pablo, was a senior out there closing it out! He played so smart."

The Mocs return home for a double-header on Sunday at the Baylor School Indoor Courts.  UTC hosts North Dakota at 10:00 a.m. (E.S.T.) and Lee at 2:30 p.m.  Links for live scoring for both matches are available on the men's tennis schedule page on GoMocs.com.   

Chattanooga 4, Lipscomb 3
02/15/2019 at Nashville, Tenn. (Richland Country Club)
Singles competition
1. Niklas Gerdes (UTC) def. Victor Chaw (LIP) 6-1, 6-4
2. Tomas Rodriguez (UTC) def. Pablo Caffarena (LIP) 6-4, 6-3
3. Kerim Hyatt (UTC) def. Jorge Ortegon (LIP) 7-6 (7-4), 6-3
4. Pedro Uribe (LIP) def. Simon Bustamante (UTC) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
5. Jake Penny (LIP) def. Jacob Marshall (UTC) 0-6, 6-3, 6-4
6. Pablo Llebeili (UTC) def. David Skrabut (LIP) 7-5, 6-3

Doubles competition
1. Kerim Hyatt/Simon Bustamante (UTC) def. Pablo Caffarena/Victor Chaw (LIP) 6-3
2. Pedro Uribe/Jorge Ortegon (LIP) def. Niklas Gerdes/Tomas Rodriguez (UTC) 7-6 (7-3)
3. Jake Penny/Michael Tougher (LIP) def. Pablo Llebeili/Jacob Marshall (UTC) 6-4

Match Notes
Chattanooga 4-4
Lipscomb 3-4
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (1,3,4,2,6,5)
T-3:50