The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team dropped 5-2 match to Furman in Southern Conference action today.  The Mocs fall to 10-8 overall and 1-1 in league action, while the Paladins improve to 11-4 and 4-1 in SoCon duals.

UTC won the doubles point behind strong play from its top two spots.  Junior Simon Bustamante and freshman Kerim Hyatt were first off the court with a 6-1 win at No. 1 against Ivan Mitric and Jake Munns.  Bustamante and Hyatt improved to 11-5 at No. 1 with their third win in a row.

Junior Niklas Gerdes and freshman Tomas Rodriguez clinched it with a 6-3 win over Jake Bhangdia and Clarke Wilson at No. 2.  Gerdes and Rodriguez move to 13-2 at No. 2. 

Furman took back control by winning five of the six first sets in singles.  The Paladins won in straight sets at No. 4, No. 5 and No. 2 to go ahead 3-1.  UTC was still in it, with the last three singles matches in a third set. 

Furman clinched the win at No. 3, and also took a three-setter at No. 6.  Gerdes grabbed a big singles victory against Mitric, who came into the day with a #120 national ranking. 

Gerdes won the first set, but Mitric evened it in the second.  With the team result decided, they played a 10-point super-tiebreaker in the third, which Gerdes won [7-5, 4-6, 1-0 (10-6)].  The win moved him to 13-5 at No. 1 this spring and 17-8 overall this season. 

"Tough loss today to a strong Furman team," said UTC head coach Chuck Merzbacher.  "I thought the doubles point was a great start.  However, hand it to Furman.  They played very well in singles across the board. Niklas' win at No. 1 was a great win for him and he has certainly has become one the best players in the SoCon."

The Mocs are back at home tomorrow against Mercer.  Match time is set for 1:00 p.m. (E.D.T.) at the UTC Tennis Center.  A link for live scoring is available on the men's tennis schedule page on GoMocs.com. 

Furman 5, Chattanooga 2
03/23/2019 at Chattanooga, Tenn. (UTC Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. Niklas Gerdes (UTC) def. #120 Ivan Mitric (FUR) 7-5, 4-6, 1-0 (10-6)
2. Clarke Wilson (FUR) def. Tomas Rodriguez (UTC) 6-3, 6-1
3. Jake Munns (FUR) def. Kerim Hyatt (UTC) 6-1, 2-6, 6-3
4. Jake Bhangdia (FUR) def. Simon Bustamante (UTC) 6-1, 6-2
5. Drew Singerman (FUR) def. Jacob Marshall (UTC) 6-2, 6-2
6. James Roelofse (FUR) def. Pablo Llebeili (UTC) 6-2, 5-7, 6-4

Doubles competition
1. Simon Bustamante/Kerim Hyatt (UTC) def. Ivan Mitric/Jake Munns (FUR) 6-1
2. Niklas Gerdes/Tomas Rodriguez (UTC) def. Jake Bhangdia/Clarke Wilson (FUR) 6-3
3. Drew Singerman/Henrik Atlevi (FUR) def. Jacob Marshall/Pablo Llebeili (UTC) 6-4

Match Notes
Furman 11-4, 4-1 SoCon
Chattanooga 10-8, 1-1 SoCon
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (4,5,2,3,6,1)
T-2:32 A-95