Coming off a lengthy shutdown due to COVID-19 issues within the program, the Chattanooga Mocs men's tennis team dropped a 6-1 decision at Jacksonville State today.  The Mocs were on the court for the first time since Jan. 29 when they fell to 0-3 on the year. 

"Credit to JSU, they played well at home today," stated head coach Chuck Merzbacher.  "This match definitely was tough in many ways coming off the break. In general, justnot having the competitive edge and being comfortable on the big and important points in all our matches.
 
Junior Jacob Marshall scored the lone point for the Mocs with a straight-sets win at No. 6.  He defeated Jordi Blanchard (6-2, 7-6) to improve to 5-5 overall. 
 
"Jacob really stepped up and helped get us back in the dual for a while with his stellar play at No. 6," added Merzbacher. "We are not where we want to be, but this was the first step towards putting this all together for the spring."
 
Up next for the Mocs is a Friday dual against Troy.  The match is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. (E.S.T.) at the UTC Tennis Center, but rain is in the forecast in the Scenic City.  Indoor backup is at McCallie's Strang-Voges Tennis Center at 6:00 p.m. A link for live scoring is available on the men's tennis schedule page on GoMocs.com. 
 
Jacksonville State 6, Chattanooga 1
2/24/2021 at Jacksonville, Ala. (JSU Tennis Courts)
Doubles competition
1. KAPLJA, Aljaz/NORWOOD, Thomas (JSUM) def. Tomas Rodriguez/Peyton Gatti (UTC) 6-3
2. AGOST, Guillermo/BLANCHAR, Jordi (JSUM) def. Turner Voges/Simon Labbe (UTC) 5-4
3. VALLEJO, Joaquin/TOMAC, Maj (JSUM) def. Kerim Hyatt/Jordan McClure (UTC) 6-4
 
Singles competition
1. VALLEJO, Joaquin (JSUM) def. Tomas Rodriguez (UTC) 6-7, 7-6, 10-5
2. AGOST, Guillermo (JSUM) def. Turner Voges (UTC) 6-0, 7-6
3. KAPLJA, Aljaz (JSUM) def. Kerim Hyatt (UTC) 6-3, 6-3
4. TOMAC, Maj (JSUM) def. Peyton Gatti (UTC) 6-2, 6-2
5. NORWOOD, Thomas (JSUM) def. Simon Labbe (UTC) 7-2, 6-1, retired
6. Jacob Marshall (UTC) def. BLANCHAR, Jordi (JSUM) 6-2, 7-6
 
Match Notes
Chattanooga 0-3
Jacksonville State 5-1
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (4,3,6,2,5,1)