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Men's Tennis vs. Presbyterian
Ray Soldano

No. 3 Men’s Tennis Opens SoCon Tournament Thursday, Jupa Leads Trio of All-SoCon Selections

The Chattanooga Mocs men’s tennis team earned three total selections on this year’s All-SoCon awards team and will open tournament action on Thursday afternoon as the three seed.

CHATTANOOGA (April 15, 2026) – The third-seeded Chattanooga Mocs men's tennis team opens Southern Conference Championship action with a quarterfinal matchup against No. 6 UNCG on Thursday afternoon at the nearby Champions Club located in Chattanooga. First serve is set for 3 p.m. (ET).
 
But, before we look at the match…
 
All-Southern Conference Selections (full list located below)
In annual fashion, the Southern Conference league office announced its all-conference selections ahead of championship weekend. Chattanooga was well represented with three total selections between the first and second teams within singles and doubles play.
 
Junior Jakub Jupa was named to the All-SoCon First Team in singles for the third-straight season. Jupa becomes just the third Moc in program history to earn three-straight first team laurels (singles) and first since Roberto Vieira's run from 2010-2012. (other: Jason Ontog, 2000-02)
 
In addition, Jupa and senior teammate Cortland Grove earned All-SoCon Second Team status in doubles as Jupa has now tallied three career All-SoCon selections in doubles, joining Tomas Rodriguez, Peyton Gatti and Ontog as the only Mocs in program history with three. Grove picks up his second such laurel after claiming all-league status in doubles following the 2024 season.
 
Newcomer sophomore Julian Franzmann landed on the All-SoCon Second Team in singles to round out the program's honorees. The 2025 Southland Conference Freshman of the Year, Franzmann transferred to UTC ahead of the season after a highly successful rookie campaign at New Orleans last year.
 
2026 Southern Conference Championships
April 16-18 | Champions Club (Chattanooga, Tenn.)
Tickets* & Bracket: View (*valid UTC ID; FREE entry for students/staff)
Live Scoring: Link
 
Thursday, April 16 – Quarterfinals
Match 1 – 1 p.m. – (1) ETSU vs. (8) The Citadel
Match 2 – 1 p.m. – (4) Mercer vs. (5) Furman
Match 3 – 3 p.m. – (3) Chattanooga vs. (6) UNCG
Match 4 – 3 p.m. – (2) Samford vs. (7) Wofford

Friday, April 17 – Semifinals
Match 5 – 2 p.m. – Match 1 vs. Match 2 Winner
Match 6 – 2 p.m. – Match 3 vs. Match 4 Winner
 
Saturday, April 18 – Championship
Match 7 – 1 p.m. – Match 5 vs. Match 6 Winner

Chattanooga Notes & Match Preview
Chattanooga finished the season 10-11 overall and 4-3 inside SoCon action following Saturday's 6-1 win over UNCG… fourth-straight season finishing with 10+ wins… longest such stretch since 2005-08.
Chattanooga is 18-13 overall against UNCG in its all-time series history… UTC has won its last eight against the Spartans… holds a 3-0 record in neutral site matches.
- Chattanooga enters the week looking for its first SoCon Tournament title since 2000… made last championship match appearance in 2023 following regular season title.
Jakub Jupa finished the regular season with a healthy 15-5 record in singles (all at No. 1)… went 6-1 in SoCon play… held a 13-match winning streak during the campaign.
 
History vs. UNCG
32nd Meeting: Chattanooga leads 18-13 (H: 8-6; A: 7-7; N: 3-0)
Last: at Chattanooga 6, UNCG 1 – April 11, 2026 (home)
Streak: Chattanooga, W8

2026 Southern Conference Men's Tennis Awards
Player of the Year
Oscar Martinez, ETSU
 
Freshman of the Year
Brady Gober, The Citadel
 
Coach of the Year
Ricky Rojas, ETSU
 
Don Bunch/Buddy Hartsell Sportsmanship Award
Ted Bagwell, The Citadel

All-Southern Conference Teams
First Team – Singles
Oscar Martinez, ETSU
Martin Vergara, ETSU
Nemanja Stefanovic, Mercer
Hod'Abalo Isak Padio, Mercer
Tymofiy Khrystyuk, UNCG
Jakub Jupa, Chattanooga

First Team – Doubles
Oscar Martinez/Martin Vergara, ETSU
Hod'Abalo Isak Padio/Nemanja Stefanovic, Mercer
Darcy Nicholls/Sandeep Mohandoss, Samford
 
Second Team – Singles
Brady Gober, The Citadel
Nico Snyder, Furman
Sebastian Harrison, Samford
Sandeep Mohandoss, Samford
Darcy Nicholls, Samford
Julian Franzmann, Chattanooga

Second-Team – Doubles
Nico Snyder/Nicolas Dispas, Furman
Lukas Dvorak/Cooper Errey, Samford
Jakub Jupa/Cortland Grove, Chattanooga
 
All-Freshman Team
Brady Gober, The Citadel
Landon Ecarma, Furman
Finn Pollard, Furman
Hector Nissen, UNCG
Lukas Dvorak, Samford
Val Dubin, Wofford

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