MACON, Ga. (March 29, 2026) – In yet another tight one-point battle, the Chattanooga Mocs men's tennis team dropped a 4-3 decision on the road at Mercer during Southern Conference action on Sunday afternoon at the Copelan Tennis Complex in Macon, Ga.

Records
Chattanooga 9-10, 3-2 SoCon
Mercer 6-11, 1-2 SoCon
 
Match Notes

• Chattanooga drops to 9-10 overall and suffered its second-straight SoCon loss to move to 3-2 inside the league… Mercer improved to 6-11 overall and earned its first league victory, improving to 1-2.
• Mercer has claimed back-to-back wins over UTC in the series history… Bears are now 6-1 all-time against the Mocs in matches held on its home courts in Macon.
• The match marked Chattanooga's ninth this season decided by a one-point 4-3 results… most single-point decisions in single-season program history (since going to seven points in 1994)… only two seasons featured eight (2005, 2012) before the current 2026's total of nine.

Match Recap
In doubles, Mercer's Nemanja Stefanovic and Hod'Abalo Isak Padio defeated Cortland Grove and Jakub Jupa (6-4) on court No. 1 before Amen Prince Gandonou and Shingo Masuda clinched the doubles point at No. 2 by defeating UTC's Julian Franzmann and Kristof Kincses, 7-5. Howell Burns and Esteb Davila Gasser completed the doubles sweep at No. 3, edging Jaxon Lamb and Carter Ramthun in a tiebreak, 7-6 (8-6).
 
In singles, Mercer extended its lead to 2-0 behind a Masuda 6-1, 6-1 victory over Martin Delnido at the No. 3 slot. At No. 2, Hod'Abalo defeated Franzmann by a 6-4, 6-4 decision to push the hosts lead to 3-0, needing just one point to clinch the match victory. Chattanooga responded with a win at No. 6 when TJ Ryerson defeated Burns (6-3, 6-4) to keep the squad alive and trim the deficit to two, 3-1.

Jupa continued the comeback push for UTC with a 6-3, 6-3 straight-set victory at the top No. 1 spot to make it 3-2 before Kincses tied the match at 3-3 with a huge 6-4, 6-2 winner on court No. 5. Prince posted a 7-5, 7-6 (7-3) tiebreak victory over Grove at No. 4 to capture the final match point and give Mercer the 4-3 victory.

Match Results
Mercer 4, Chattanooga 3
(Copelan Tennis Complex – Macon, Ga.)
Doubles 
1. Nemanja Stefanovic/Hod'Abalo Isak Padio (MER) def. Cortland Grove/Jakub Jupa (UTC) 6-4 
2. Amen Prince Gandonou/Shingo Masuda (MER) def. Julian Franzmann/Kristof Kincses (UTC) 7-5 
3. Howell Burns/Esteb Davila Gasser (MER) def. Jaxon Lamb/Carter Ramthun (UTC) 7-6(6) 
 
Singles 
1. Jakub Jupa (UTC) def. Nemanja Stefanovic (MER) 6-3, 6-3 
2. Hod'Abalo Isak Padio (MER) def. Julian Franzmann (UTC) 6-4, 6-4 
3. Shingo Masuda (MER) def. Martin Delnido (UTC) 6-1, 6-1 
4. Amen Prince Gandonou (MER) def. Cortland Grove (UTC) 7-5, 7-6(3) 
5. Kristof Kincses (UTC) def. Alex Aldaz (MER) 6-4, 6-2 
6. TJ Ryerson (UTC) def. Howell Burns (MER) 6-3, 6-4 
 
Match Info
Order of finish: Singles (3, 2, 6, 1, 5, 4) – Doubles (1, 2, 3)
Duration: 3:12
Attendance: 42

Up Next
Chattanooga travels to Johnson City next week for a Thursday (April 2) Southern Conference matchup at in-state rival ETSU. First serve is set for 2 p.m. (ET). All match links, when available, are located on the schedule page at GoMocs.com.

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