The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team split 10 singles and four doubles matches on the first day of competition at the Southern Miss Invite today.  The Mocs took on opponents from South Alabama and MTSU in Hattiesburg, Miss., today.

Sophomore Tomas Rodriguez and freshman Peyton Gatti opened doubles play with a 6-4 win over the Jaguar's Clement Marzol and Jordan Coutinho.  Sophomore Kerim Hyatt and freshman Jeffrey Dewald also had a 6-2 win over USA's Martin Bugaj and Philip Bosman.

"The team is locked in competitively and we were mentally though throughout the day," stated head coach Chuck Merzbacher.  "It was hot and humid, but I thought we handled it well out there.  It is great to see our doubles continue to improve."

All five of the singles wins were in straight sets, beginning with Rodriguez's (6-3, 6-4) victory over Julien Evrad. It was the sixth consecutive singles win for Rodriguez.  Senior Turner Voges posted a (6-3, 6-4) win over Bugaj for his fourth-straight victory. 

Gatti defeated Coutinho (7-5, 6-4), while junior Jacob Marshall posted a (6-3, 6-0) win over Bosman.  Freshman Quinten Nevenhoven had the other win, (6-0, 6-3) over Ezra Blissard.

UTC is back in action tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. (E.D.T.) against the host Golden Eagles. 

USM Invite Friday Results
Doubles
Julien Evrad/Sebastien Collard (USA) def. Turner Voges/Simon Labbe (UTC) – 6-4
Tomas Rodriguez/Peyton Gatti (UTC) def. Clement Marzol/Jordan Coutinho (USA) – 6-4
Kerim Hyatt/Jeffrey Dewald (UTC) def. Martin Bugaj/Philip Bosman (USA) – 6-2
Anders Kramer/Oskar Michalek (MTSU) def. Luke Plaisted/Kaisei Kuroki (UTC) – 7-6 (2)

Singles
Tomas Rodriguez (UTC) def. Julien Evrad (USA) – 6-3, 6-4
Clement Marzol (USA) def. Kerim Hyatt (UTC) – 6-3, 6-2
Sebastien Collard (USA) def. Jeffrey Dewald (UTC) – 6-0, 6-1
Turner Voges (UTC) def. Martin Bugaj (USA) – 6-3, 6-4
Peyton Gatti (UTC) def. Jordan Coutinho (USA) – 7-5, 6-4
Jacob Marshall (UTC) def. Philip Bosman (USA) – 6-3, 6-0
Quinten Nevenhoven (UTC) def. Ezra Blissard (USA) – 6-0, 6-3
Pavel Motl (MTSU) def. Luke Plaisted (UTC) – 6-3, 6-3
Max Rauch (MTSU) def. Kaisei Kuroki (UTC) – 6-2, 6-1
Tom Moonen (MTSU) def. Quinten Nevenhoven (UTC) – 6-1, 6-1