The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team dropped a 7-0 match at Clemson to open the 2021 spring schedule today.  The Mocs were leading at No. 2 doubles with the opening point was decided, and were also swept in singles play.

"Clemson has a solid team top to bottom," stated head coach Chuck Merzbacher.  "We had some solid matches in spots across the board. We need to clean up a few things in doubles but really needed this match overall to see where we are at and what we need to work on. A starting point for sure- we can build off this."
 
Sophomore Tomas Rodriguez and freshman Peyton Gatti were leading 4-3 at No. 2 when the doubles point was decided.  Both also pushed their singles opponents to tiebreakers in the their opening sets. 
 
The Mocs keep up their tough schedule in two weeks at Alabama.  UTC faces the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Friday, Jan. 29, at 6:00 p.m.
 
Clemson 7, Chattanooga 0
01/16/2021 at Clemson, S.C. (The Duckworth Family Tennis Facility)
Doubles competition
1. Ryuhei Azuma/Jacob Jahn (MCU21) def. Simon Labbe/Turner Voges (UTC) 6-2
2. Yizhou Liu/Jorge Plans Gonzalez (MCU21) vs. Tomas Rodriguez/Peyton Gatti (UTC) 3-4, unfinished
3. Spencer Whitaker/Carlos Kelaidis (MCU21) def. Kerim Hyatt/Jeffrey Dewald (UTC) 6-0
 
Singles competition
1. Yizhou Liu (MCU21) def. Tomas Rodriguez (UTC) 7-6 (7-4), 6-3
2. Teodor Giusca (MCU21) def. Kerim Hyatt (UTC) 6-1, 6-0
3. Carlos Kelaidis (MCU21) def. Jeffrey Dewald (UTC) 6-3, 6-2
4. Ryuhei Azuma (MCU21) def. Peyton Gatti (UTC) 7-6 (7-5), 6-3
5. Jorge Plans Gonzalez (MCU21) def. Quinten Nevenhoven (UTC) 7-5, 6-4
6. Jacob Jahn (MCU21) def. Luke Plaisted (UTC) 6-0, 6-0
 
Match Notes
Chattanooga 0-1 (0-0 SoCon)
Clemson 1-0 (0-0 ACC)
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (2,6,3,4,5,1)