The University at Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team snapped a nine-match losing streak against the Samford Bulldogs with a 5-2 win in Birmingham, Ala., today.  The Mocs improved to 12-10 overall and 3-3 in league duals with the victory.

Chattanooga won the doubles point and four singles matches to move into a tie for fourth place in the Southern Conference race.  The loss dropped Samford to 9-8 overall and 1-3 in league duals.  This was UTC's first win over Samford since a 4-3 victory on April 7, 2010, in Birmingham.   

Samford actually took the first doubles match with a 6-0 win at No. 3.  The Mocs responded by only losing two games in the other two doubles contests. 

Junior Niklas Gerdes and freshman Tomas Rodriguez scored a 6-1 win over Rossouw Norval and M.A. Bellalouna at No. 2.  The UTC duo improved to a SoCon-leading 16-3 in the spring.

Junior Simon Bustamante and freshman Kerim Hyatt clinched the point with a 6-1 win at No. 1 over Jack Lytle and Sami Kiberg.  Bustamante and Hyatt moved to 13-6 overall at No. 1 this spring.

Hyatt was first off the court in singles.  He posted a (6-3, 6-0) win over Kirberg at No. 3.  That moved him to 12-10 in the spring.  Samford got on the board with a win at No. 4, but Rodriguez responded with a (6-0, 6-4) victory over Daniel Orlita at No. 2.  That snapped a four-match slide for Rodriguez who is now 14-8 in the spring. 

The Bulldogs cut the lead to 3-2 with a win at No. 6, but that was as close as they would get.  Senior Pablo Llebeili closed out the win with a three-set win at No. 5.  He defeated Bellalouna (5-7, 6-4, 6-4) to even his spring record at 11-11. 

Gerdes ended the day with a three-set win over Norval at No. 1 (3-6, 6-4, 7-5).  He moved to a team-best 15-7 in the spring. 

"This was a tough mid-week match on the road after playing a very tough past weekend," stated head coach Chuck Merzbacher.  "The guys gathered their energy and fought through this match. We've earned an off weekend and we'll be ready to finish strong."

Up next for the Mocs is the final home match of the 2019 season against Covenant College on Wednesday, April 10.  First serve is set for 4:30 p.m. (E.D.T.) at the UTC Tennis Center.  The season finale is at UNCG on April 13 and the SoCon Tournament is April 18-20 in Macon, Ga.

Chattanooga 5, Samford 2
04/03/2019 at Birmingham, Ala. (Samford Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. Niklas Gerdes (UTC) def. Rossouw Norval (SAM) 3-6, 6-4, 7-5
2. Tomas Rodriguez (UTC) def. Daniel Orlita (SAM) 6-0, 6-4
3. Kerim Hyatt (UTC) def. Sami Kirberg (SAM) 6-3, 6-0
4. Aleksandar Petrovic (SAM) def. Simon Bustamante (UTC) 6-2, 6-3
5. Pablo Llebeili (UTC) def. M.A. Bellalouna (SAM) 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
6. Jack Lyttle (SAM) def. Jacob Marshall (UTC) 6-1, 6-3

Doubles competition
1. Kerim Hyatt/Simon Bustamante (UTC) def. Jack Lyttle/Sami Kirberg (SAM) 6-1
2. Niklas Gerdes/Tomas Rodriguez (UTC) def. Rossouw Norval/M.A. Bellalouna (SAM) 6-1
3. Daniel Orlita/Aleksandar Petrovic (SAM) def. Jacob Marshall/Cooper Long (UTC) 6-0

Match Notes
Chattanooga 12-10, 3-3 SoCon
Samford 9-8, 1-3 SoCon
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (3,4,2,6,5,1)