The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team ran its current winning streak to eight matches with a 6-1 win over UNC Asheville today.  The Mocs improved to 8-1 overall while the Bulldogs dropped to 2-4.

The Mocs avenged a 5-2 loss to UNCA in last year's meeting in Asheville, N.C.  UTC's current run is its longest since winning nine in a row in the 2006-07 season. 

"Great weekend for the team," stated UTC head coach Chuck Merzbacher.  "They certainly competed well and we really had to because Belmont and UNC-A are tough teams.

"I like the way we came out on the doubles today. We have strong doubles and we executed the way we wanted. Asheville competes hard at every spot and I was proud of how each guy on our team responded to the challenge."

Senior Niklas Gerdes and sophomore Tomas Rodriguez remained unbeaten at No.2 with a 6-2 win over Sira Daosaengsawang and Edward Colclough.  Senior Simon Bustamante and sophomore Kerim Hyatt clinched the doubles with a 6-2 win over Oli Nolan and Charlie Morkel at No. 1. 

Asheville responded by taking an early lead in five of the six singles matches.  Gerdes and junior Jacob Marshall kept the momentum on the Mocs side with quick wins in the first set at No. 1 and No. 6.  Rodriguez would also eventually take the first set at No. 2.

Marshall was first off with a (6-3, 6-4) win over Quinn Fender.  Gerdes put UTC up 3-0 with his (6-4 6-2) win against Nolan.  That victory kept Gerdes unbeaten in singles play at 9-0 in the spring. 

The Bulldogs led in three of the other four matches, but Rodriguez was able to clinch the team win (7-5, 6-4) over Morkel at No. 2.  That was Rodriguez's seventh win in a row, moving his spring mark to 7-1 at No. 2.

Bustamante won his match at No. 5 in a third-set, super-tiebreaker [6-7 (3), 6-3, 1-0 (4)].  He is now 5-1 at No. 5 in the spring.  Freshman Jeffrey Dewald battled back at No. 4 to take a three-set (5-7, 6-4, 6-4) win over Leo Bierbaum.  It was Dewald's eighth win in a row as he also moves to 7-1 at No. 4. 

Up next for the Mocs is a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 15.  UTC faces Lipscomb at 1:00 p.m. (E.S.T.) and Young Harris at 7:00 p.m. at McCallie's Strang-Voges Tennis Center.

Chattanooga 6, UNC Asheville 1
02/09/2020 at Chattanooga, Tenn. (Strang-Voges Tennis Center)
Singles competition
1. Niklas Gerdes (UTC) def. NOLAN, Oli (AVL) 6-4, 6-2
2. Tomas Rodriguez (UTC) def. MORKEL, Charlie (AVL) 7-5, 6-4
3. DAOSAENGSAWANG, Sira (AVL) def. Kerim Hyatt (UTC) 6-2, 7-6 (7-2)
4. Jeffrey Dewald (UTC) def. BIERBAUM, Leo (AVL) 5-7, 6-2, 6-4
5. Simon Bustamante (UTC) def. THURSFIELD, Harry (AVL) 6-7 (3-7), 6-3, 1-0 (10-4)
6. Jacob Marshall (UTC) def. FENDER, Quinn (AVL) 6-3, 6-4

Doubles competition
1. Simon Bustamante/Kerim Hyatt (UTC) def. NOLAN, Oli/MORKEL, Charlie (AVL) 6-2
2. Niklas Gerdes/Tomas Rodriguez (UTC) def. DAOSAENGSAWANG, Sira/COLCLOUGH, Edward (AVL) 6-2
3. Jeffrey Dewald/Turner Voges (UTC) vs. BIERBAUM, Leo/FENDER, Quinn (AVL) 5-4, unfinished

Match Notes
UNC Asheville 2-4
Chattanooga 8-1
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (6,1,2,3,5,4)
T-2:45 A-42