CHATTANOOGA – Kerim Hyatt earned a 7-5, 6-4 decision in singles in the final match of the day to help lift the Chattanooga Mocs men's tennis team to a 4-3 dual match victory over in-state foe Lipscomb on Sunday afternoon at the UTC Tennis Complex.
 
Following the win, Chattanooga improves to 2-6 on the season. Lipscomb moves to 3-5 overall after the defeat.
 
"It was a good win today over a tough Lipscomb team," said head coach Chuck Merzbacher. "It was nice to get a win and I'm proud of the guys getting a win like we did against a solid team.
                        
The Mocs took an early 1-0 lead after seeing victories in doubles action from the tandems of Hyatt and Kaisei Kuroki (6-3) and Simon Labbe and Jordan McClure (6-2).
 
"The new doubles teams look strong and played with lots of energy today," added Merzbacher.
 
After Lipscomb pulled ahead 3-2 with victories at the No. 4, 5 and 6 slots, UTC clinched the match on Hyatt's singles win at No.3 after picking up victories from Tomas Rodriguez and Simon Labbe at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively.
 
"I'm proud of these guys sticking together and playing hard with lots of positive energy," Merzbacher concluded.
 
Chattanooga opens up Southern Conference action on Friday, February 25 as it hosts The Citadel for a 1:00 p.m. ET matchup. When available, live stats and results will be posted at GoMocs.com.
 
CHATTANOOGA 4, LIPSCOMB 3
DOUBLES
1. Gonzalo Garcia-Nieto/Sam Fischer (LIP) vs. Tomas Rodriguez/Peyton Gatti (UTC) 4-4, unfinished 
2. Kerim Hyatt/Kaisei Kuroki (UTC) def. Pedro Uribe/Maksim Bogdanovich (LIP) 6-3
3. Simon Labbe/Jordan McClure (UTC) def. Alex Mesquida/Carlos Salas Tulla (LIP) 6-2
 
SINGLES
1. Tomas Rodriguez (UTC) def. Maksim Bogdanovich (LIP) 6-3, 6-2
2. Simon Labbe (UTC) def. Pedro Uribe (LIP) 6-4, 6-4
3. Kerim Hyatt (UTC) def. Gonzalo Garcia-Nieto (LIP) 7-5, 6-4
4. Alex Mesquida (LIP) def. Peyton Gatti (UTC) 6-3, 6-4
5. Sam Fischer (LIP) def. Jordan McClure (UTC) 6-4, 7-5
6. Carlos Salas Tulla (LIP) def. Quinten Nevenhoven (UTC) 6-0, 6-3
 
MATCH NOTES
Lipscomb 3-5
Chattanooga 2-6
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (1,6,4,5,2,3)
Held at the UTC Tennis Complex

FOLLOW CHATTANOOGA MEN'S TENNIS
Follow @GoMocsMTennis on Twitter & @GoMocsMTEN on Instagram for the most up-to-date information and news regarding Chattanooga men's tennis.

GoMocs.com is the official website of the Chattanooga Mocs. Buy officially licensed gear in our online store. The Mocs can also be followed on their official Facebook page or on Twitter. Find out how to join the Mocs Club and support more than 300 student-athletes by clicking here.