TOURNAMENT HOMEPAGE
ROME, Ga. (May 6, 2026) – The No. 4 seed Chattanooga Mocs men's tennis team earned an impressive 4-1 victory over No. 5 North Carolina Central during the quarterfinal round of the 2026 UTR Sports NIT Championship on Wednesday afternoon inside the Rome Tennis Center in Rome, Ga.
No. 4 Chattanooga (12-12) advances to the semifinal round for the second-straight season after the victory and will match up against top-seeded Virginia Tech tomorrow (May 7) afternoon. NC Central concludes its season with a 13-7 overall record following the defeat.
Chattanooga and Virginia Tech's semifinal meeting will start at approx. 2:30 p.m. (ET) at the Rome Tennis Center. The match will feature live video on the Playsight platform. Please visit the tournament homepage
HERE for complete information.
Match Recap
#4 Chattanooga 4, #5 NC Central 1
NCCU jumped out to a 1-0 lead following a tightly contested doubles point between the two teams. NCCU earned victories at the No. 1 and No. 3 pairings while UTC's No. 2 doubles team of
Julian Franzmann and
Jaxon Lamb earned a 6-4 victory in between the two Eagles wins.
In singles, Chattanooga turned the tide and captured the necessary team points with four straight-set victories.
Kristof Kincses started the run with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Leo Fortier-Gariepy at No. 5 before
TJ Ryerson followed with a 6-4, 6-2 win against Pol Puig Montiel at No. 6 to put UTC ahead 2-1 in the dual.
Cortland Grove, the reigning NIT MVP, brought the Mocs within a point of clinching the victory after posting a straight-set win over Santiago Pinna (6-1, 7-5) at No. 4.
Jakub Jupa clinched the quarterfinal match for UTC at the No. 1 slot, defeating Naresh Bharathy by a 6-3, 7-6 (3) tally.
Match Results
#4 Chattanooga 4, #5 NC Central 1
Rome Tennis Center – Rome, Ga.
Doubles
1. Rodrigo Alves/Kareem Abdul Hakim (NCCU) def.
Cortland Grove/
Kristof Kincses (UTC), 6-4
2.
Julian Franzmann/
Jaxon Lamb (UTC) def. Santiago Pinna/Naresh Bharathy (NCCU), 6-4
3. Pol Puig Montiel/Leo Fortier-Gariepy (NCCU) def.
Jakub Jupa/
Carter Ramthun (UTC), 6-2
Singles
1.
Jakub Jupa (UTC) def. Naresh Bharathy (NCCU) – 6-3, 7-6 (3)
2.
Julian Franzmann (UTC) vs. Rodrigo Alves (NCCU) – 7-6 (5), 4-4 (unfinished)
3.
Martin Delnido (UTC) vs. Kareem Abdul Hakim (NCCU) – 6-3, 3-6, 2-2 (unfinished)
4.
Cortland Grove (UTC) def. Santiago Pinna (NCCU) – 6-1, 7-5
5.
Kristof Kincses (UTC) def. Leo Fortier-Gariepy (NCCU) – 6-2, 6-3
6.
TJ Ryerson (UTC) def. Pol Puig Montiel (NCCU) – 6-4, 6-2
Order of Finish: Doubles: 3, 2, 1; Singles: 5, 6, 4, 1
Start Time: 4:00 PM
Duration: 2:26
Attendance: 41
About the 2026 UTR Sports NIT Championship
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, the fourth annual, of the single-elimination tournament features five NCAA Division I programs with a quarterfinal, semifinal and championship round making up the bracket.
2026 UTR Sports NIT Championship
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
Quarterfinals – Wednesday, May 6
M1: 2:30 p.m. (ET) –
#4 Chattanooga 4, NC Central 1
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.
#4 Chattanooga (12-12)
Championship – Friday, May 8
M4: 9 a.m. (ET) – M2 Winner vs. M3 Winner
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