The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team hosts its last two weekend matches of the season. The Mocs welcome Wofford on Saturday, March 30, followed by ETSU on Sunday in Southern Conference action at the UTC Tennis Center.
Saturday's dual with the Terriers is 1:00 p.m. (E.D.T.), while first serve on Sunday against the Buccaneers is Noon. The ETSU match is Senior Day, where the Mocs recognize
Paul LaHue and Pablo Llebeli. Links for live scoring for both matches are available on the men's tennis schedule page on GoMocs.com.
Chattanooga is 10-9 overall, its most wins in a season since going 12-9 in 2013. The Mocs are 1-2 in SoCon duals and have not scored two league wins in a season since posting a 2-9 mark in 2014.
Junior
Niklas Gerdes is 13-6 at No. 1, the most wins in the top spot in the SoCon this season. Freshman
Tomas Rodriguez is also 13-6, and has the most wins at No. 2 in the league. Together, they make up the No. 2 doubles tandem with a league-best 14-2 record in the spring.
Wofford brings a 6-10 overall record. The Terriers are 3-2 in SoCon duals, including a 4-3 win over UNCG last Saturday. The Mocs hold a 15-10 lead in the all-time series that started in 1995. Wofford has won five in a row, with the last Chattanooga win (5-2) coming on March 30, 2013, in Spartanburg, S.C.
"Wofford was very solid last year, and they have improved themselves over last year's team," stated UTC head coach
Chuck Merzbacher. "They have had some nice wins over Mercer, Samford, and UNCG in our league and they compete very well from top to bottom."
ETSU has won nine of its last 10 matches and sits at 12-4 overall, atop the SoCon standings at 4-0. The Bucs visit Charlotte on Friday before making the trip to the Scenic City. UTC is 11-19 all-time against ETSU, with the Bucs winning 10 in a row. The last Chattanooga victory was a 4-3 triumph on April 14, 2001.
"ETSU is the favorite to win the league," said Merzbacher. "They play a strong schedule, going 12-4, and are now 4-0 in conference play. They have a lot talent and depth, and we know it will take a monumental effort for us but, as we have proven this year, we can compete for the doubles point and at every position regardless of who we play.
"This is senior day, and we want to leave it all out there for our seniors."
The Mocs added another home date to make up for the Alabama A&M match that was cancelled earlier in the season. UTC now hosts Covenant on Wednesday, April 10, at the UTC Tennis Courts at 4:30 p.m.
