The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team opens Southern Conference action at home this weekend against The Citadel.  Match time is set for 2:30 p.m. (E.S.T.) on Friday, Feb. 21, at the UTC Tennis Center.

The Mocs also travel to USC-Upstate for more non-conference play on Sunday, Feb. 23, in Spartanburg, S.C.  The match against the Spartans starts at Noon.  A link to live scoring for The Citadel match is on the men's tennis schedule page on GoMocs.com.    

UTC is off to a 9-2 start and unofficially ranked No. 72 in the nation, according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.  Chattanooga is led by senior Nilklas Gerdes' 11-0 record at No. 1 singles.  He teams with sophomore Tomas Rodriguez at No. 2 doubles, and they have a 9-0 mark to this point of the season. 

Senior Simon Bustamante is 5-1 at No. 5 and 7-4 at No. 1 doubles with sophomore Kerim Hyatt.  Freshman Jeffrey Dewald has won 10 in a row at No. 4 and junior Jacob Marshall is 4-1 at No. 6. 

"The team has really battled thru the first half of the season," stated head coach Chuck Merzbacher.  "We open up our home outdoor schedule with league foe The Citadel on Friday. SoCon matches always have an added intensity, and we look forward to a spirited match with the Bulldogs."

Chattanooga has won nine of the last 10 duals in the series with The Citadel.  This includes last year's 5-2 win in Charleston on March 17.  UTC holds a 32-5 mark all-time against the Bulldogs since the series began in 1978.

The Citadel is 2-8 overall, including wins over Benedict and USC Sumter.  The last outing was a 7-0 loss at Georgia Tech on Sunday, Feb. 9.

The Mocs also scored a 5-2 match over USC-Upstate in last year's dual on Feb. 24 in Chattanooga.  Upstate took the only two other meetings in the series.  They beat UTC 4-0 on Feb. 28, 2015, in Spartanburg, S.C., and won 6-1 on March 8, 2016, in Chattanooga.

"USC-Upstate played very well against us last year," added Merzbacher.  "We know they have added a few solid players to the squad. It will be a great road test for this team."

Upstate is 0-5 on the year but hosts three matches before taking on the Mocs on Sunday.  The play two against Emmanuel College on Friday, Feb. 21, and host North Greenville on Saturday in Charleston.