The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team swept a Sunday doubleheader at the Guerry Tennis Center at Chattanooga's Baylor School today.  The Mocs defeated North Dakota (7-0) and Lee (6-1) to improve to 6-4 overall.

"This was a hard fought weekend," stated head coach Chuck Merzbacher. "I thought we handled North Dakota's very strong doubles line up and carried that energy into singles.  The Lee match was our second match of the day and third match of the weekend. I thought every one showed grit and found a way against a very improved team. It was a close doubles point and the singles matches were battles across the board. I'm really proud of this team, they played with toughness all weekend."

Today's wins capped off a 3-0 weekend for UTC that included a 5-2 victory at Lipscomb on Friday night.  Below are full recaps from today's action.

Chattanooga 7 – North Dakota 0 – by Annie Tarwater
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team started today's doubleheader off strong with a 7-0 sweep over the University of North Dakota. It was the Mocs' second win in a row to move their overall record to 5-4.

Junior Niklas Gerdes and freshman Tomas Rodriguez set the tone early in the doubles by getting a 6-0 win at the No. 2 position. The Fighting Hawks came back to even the doubles point to 1-1, just before junior Simon Bustamante and freshman Kerim Hyatt clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 win at the No. 1 doubles position.

The momentum of the doubles play carried on to the singles matches, with Bustamante earning a short and sweet 6-0, 6-2 win at No. 4 to put the team up 2-0. Shortly after, Hyatt earned a 6-2, 6-4 victory at No. 3.

Gerdes was in control of his match at the No. 1 singles spot and clinched with a 6-2, 6-3 win. Senior Pablo Llebeili earned a quick 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 5 spot to keep his six match winning streak alive. 

Meanwhile, Rodriguez was in a gritty third set and eventually pulled out the win at the No. 2 spot 6-0, 4-6, 7-5 after being down 5-4 in the third.

The Mocs were then up 6-0, with sophomore Cooper Long still on court for his first dual singles match. It came down to the wire with a 7-6 (5), 5-7, 1-0 (4) win by Long to give the Mocs the 7-0 victory.

Chattanooga 7, North Dakota 0
02/17/2019 at Chattanooga, Tenn. (Guerry Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. Niklas Gerdes (UTC) def. Nejc Sitar (UND) 6-2, 6-3
2. Tomas Rodriguez (UTC) def. Lukas Buth (UND) 6-0, 4-6, 7-5
3. Kerim Hyatt (UTC) def. Johnnie Carmichael (UND) 6-2, 6-4
4. Simon Bustamante (UTC) def. Jake Kuhlman (UND) 6-0, 6-2
5. Pablo Llebeili (UTC) def. Davide Callegari (UND) 6-2, 6-0
6. Cooper Long (UTC) def. Pavle Drobnjakovic (UND) 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 1-0 (10-4)

Doubles competition
1. Simon Bustamante/Kerim Hyatt (UTC) def. Nejc Sitar/Lukas Buth (UND) 6-4
2. Niklas Gerdes/Tomas Rodriguez (UTC) def. Johnnie Carmichael/Davide Callegari (UND) 6-0
3. Jake Kuhlman/Chuck Tang (UND) def. Pablo Llebeili/Jacob Marshall (UTC) 6-4

Match Notes
North Dakota 3-3
Chattanooga 5-4
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (4,3,1,5,2,6)
T-4:00 A-27

Chattanooga 6 – Lee 1
In the afternoon match against Lee, the Flames came out on fire at No. 3 doubles when Daniel Prata and Antonio Pons posted a 6-0 win over sophomores Cooper Long and Kaisei Kuroki.  It was Long and Kuroki's first match as a tandem this spring.

Both of the other doubles matches were very tight, but UTC was able to take the point. Junior Simon Bustamante and freshman Kerim Hyatt won 6-4 at No. 1, while junior Niklas Gerdes and freshman Tomas Rodriguez won by the same score at No. 2. 

Gerdes put UTC up 2-0 with a quick win at No. 1 (6-1, 6-2) for his third-straight victory in the top spot.  Lee cut into the lead with a three-set win at No. 4, but Rodriguez took the No. 2 match for a 3-1 lead.  He was trailing 4-2 in the first set against Jesus Garcia before winning (7-5, 7-5).  It was also Rodriguez's third-straight win.      

Senior Pablo Llebeili clinched the team win with a quick (6-1, 6-4) win at No. 5.  He was down 4-1 in the second set before running off five consecutive games for his seventh win in a row. 

Hyatt made it 5-1 with a three-set win over Prata at No. 3.  It was Hyatt's fourth win in a row as he improves to a team-best 13-8 on the season. 

The last match of the day featured Long at No. 6.  He quickly fell behind 4-1 against Bruno Medeiros, but went on to win 11 of the next 14 games to take the match (7-5, 6-2) for his second win of the day. 

Up next for the Mocs is a doubleheader next Saturday, Feb. 23, against USC Upstate and Carson-Newman.  Be sure to check GoMocs.com later in the week for specific times and locations.   

Chattanooga 6, Lee University 1
02/17/2019 at Chattanooga, Tenn. (Guerry Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. Niklas Gerdes (UTC) def. Jake Okines (LEE) 6-1, 6-2
2. Tomas Rodriguez (UTC) def. Jesus Garcia (LEE) 7-5, 7-5
3. Kerim Hyatt (UTC) def. Daniel Prata (LEE) 6-4, 6-7 (6-8), 6-2
4. Antonio Pons (LEE) def. Simon Bustamante (UTC) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
5. Pablo Llebeili (UTC) def. Cristian Pons (LEE) 6-1, 6-4
6. Cooper Long (UTC) def. Bruno Medeiros (LEE) 7-5, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. Simon Bustamante/Kerim Hyatt (UTC) def. Jake Okines/Bruno Medeiros (LEE) 6-4
2. Niklas Gerdes/Tomas Rodriguez (UTC) def. Jesus Garcia/Cristian Pons (LEE) 6-4
3. Daniel Prata/Antonio Pons (LEE) def. Cooper Long/Kaisei Kuroki (UTC) 6-0

Match Notes
Lee University 3-0
Chattanooga 6-4
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (1,4,2,5,3,6)
This match is an exhibition for NCAA Division II Lee University.
It is a regular season match for the Mocs that counts on UTC's record.
T-4:00 A-29