The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team ran off its fourth-straight win with a 7-0 sweep at The Citadel. The Mocs moved to 4-5 overall after winning their Southern Conference opener in Charleston, S.C., while the Bulldogs dropped to 4-9 and 0-2 in league action.
"The guys played well today," stated UTC head coach
Chuck Merzbacher. "The Citadel has good doubles and we battled to get all three matches. I really liked our composure. In singles, everyone played well and competed very well. This was a good road win and conference win.'
Junior
Tomas Rodriguez and freshman
Peyton Gatti breezed to their third-straight win at No. 1 doubles to open the dual. The defeated Josiah Schainblatt and Sebastain Kemieniecki (6-0). Sophomore
Kerim Hyatt and freshman
Jeffrey Dewald were next off with a 6-4 win over Lucas Robbins Leo Du Plooy.
Despite already holding the doubles point and a 1-0 lead, the Mocs kept battling in the finals double match. Senior
Turner Voges and sophomore
Simon Labbe closed out Hayden Shoemake and Will Graham in a tiebreaker [7-6 (3)].
In singles play, UTC won all six matches in straight sets. Voges put the Mocs up 2-0 with a quick (6-1, 6-2) win over Zvonko Bencedic at No. 2. That was followed by Dewald's (6-3, 6-2) win over Schainblatt at No. 4.
Gatti won his fourth in a row at No. 6 with a (6-4, 6-1) victory against Quinn to clinch the team win. Labbe, Rodriguez and Hyatt also won in single play. It was the fifth win in a row for both Rodriguez and Hyatt.
Up next for the Mocs is a Tuesday afternoon home match against Tennessee Tech on March 16. The Mocs host the Golden Eagles at 2:30 p.m. (E.D.T.) at the UTC Tennis Center.
Chattanooga 7, The Citadel 0
3/14/2021 at Earle Tennis Center
Doubles competition
1.
Peyton Gatti/
Tomas Rodriguez (UTC) def. Josiah Schainblatt/S. Kemieniecki (CIT) 6-0
2.
Simon Labbe/
Turner Voges (UTC) def. Hayden Shoemake/Will Graham (CIT) 7-6 (7-3)
3.
Kerim Hyatt/
Jeffrey Dewald (UTC) def. Lucas Robbins/Leo Du Plooy (CIT) 6-4
Singles competition
1.
Tomas Rodriguez (UTC) def. Will Graham (CIT) 7-5, 6-0
2.
Turner Voges (UTC) def. Zvonko Bencedic (CIT) 6-1, 6-2
3.
Kerim Hyatt (UTC) def. Hayden Shoemake (CIT) 7-5, 6-1
4.
Jeffrey Dewald (UTC) def. Josiah Schainblatt (CIT) 6-3, 6-2
5.
Simon Labbe (UTC) def. S. Kemieniecki (CIT) 6-2, 6-4
6.
Peyton Gatti (UTC) def. Phillip Quinn (CIT) 6-4, 6-1
Match Notes
Chattanooga 4-5, 1-0 SoCon
The Citadel 4-9, 0-2 SoCon
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (2,4,6,5,1,3)
