ROME, Ga. (April 30, 2026) – After winning the UTR Sports NIT Championship last spring, the Chattanooga Mocs men's tennis team will make its second-straight appearance and begin its title defense as the No. 4 seed while opening play against No. 5 North Carolina Central in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, May 6.
The 2026 UTR Sports NIT Championship will be held May 5-8 at the Rome Tennis Center at Berry College (100 Match Point Drive SW) in Rome, Ga. This year's edition of the single-elimination tournament features five NCAA Division I programs with a quarterfinal, semifinal and championship round making up the bracket.
"The team and I are certainly excited to defend our UTR NIT Championship," said head coach
Chuck Merzbacher following the tournament's field announcement on Thursday.
"By having a solid season and finishing in the top three in SoCon play, we appreciate the opportunity to have our group keep playing together. You never know when something like this can carry over to the summer and more importantly next season," added Merzbacher.
Chattanooga, the No. 4 seed, opens bracket play next Wednesday against No. 5 NC Central in the de facto "play-in" match to earn a spot in the semifinals against top seed and ACC-member Virginia Tech. UTC similarly opened last year's title run with a victory over NCCU before downing St. Mary's (CA) in the championship match.
The tournament's full field, seeding, bracket and match times are listed below.
2026 UTR Sports NIT Championship (Homepage)
Dates: May 5-8, 2026
Site: Rome, Ga. (Rome Tennis Center at Berry College)
Field: (1) Virginia Tech, (2) North Alabama, (3) Longwood, (4) Chattanooga, (5) NC Central
Watch: Live Video
Quarterfinals – Wednesday, May 6
M1: 2:30 p.m. (ET) – #4 Chattanooga (11-12) vs. #5 NC Central (13-8)
Semifinals – Thursday, May 7
M2: 11:30 a.m. (ET) – #2 North Alabama (14-9) vs. #3 Longwood (13-6)
M3: 2:30 p.m. (ET) – #1 Virginia Tech (6-16) vs. Winner of M1
Championship – Friday, May 8
M4: 9 a.m. (ET) – M2 Winner vs. M3 Winner
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