Photo by: Ray Soldano
Fall Preview: Men’s Tennis Turns to Returning Core Ahead of Fall Season
9/3/2026 11:07:00 AM | Men's Tennis
The Chattanooga Mocs men's tennis team will lean on its experience heading into the upcoming 2026 fall season.
CHATTANOOGA (September 3, 2026) – The Chattanooga Mocs men's tennis program and head coach Chuck Merzbacher will begin a new chapter when the 2026 fall season gets underway next weekend at the Austin Peay Fall Invite held September 11-13 in Clarksville, Tenn.
Chattanooga finished the 2025-26 campaign with a 12-13 overall record and advanced to the semifinal round of both the Southern Conference Tournament and the UTR Sports National Invitational Tournament. The Mocs defeated UNCG 4-3 in the SoCon quarterfinals before falling to Samford, then earned a 4-1 victory over North Carolina Central to reach the UTR Sports NIT semifinals for the second consecutive season.
While the Mocs return five starters from last year's lineup, the team will enter the fall looking to replace three graduates: Cortland Grove, Kristof Kincses and Carter Ramthun. The trio provided Chattanooga with valuable experience throughout their careers and regularly contributed across both singles and doubles play.
Even with those departures, Chattanooga brings back an experienced group led by senior Jakub Jupa, who earned All-Southern Conference honors last season. Jupa occupied the No. 1 singles position throughout the spring and put together a 13-match winning streak during dual competition.
Chattanooga introduces two new players: Maxime Aremon, a transfer from Cleveland State, and freshman Alejandro Conde. Aremon arrives after spending two seasons with the Vikings, where he contributed in both singles and doubles and climbed as high as No. 84 in the ITA Division I national doubles rankings. Conde joins the program from Mt. Juliet, Tenn., after competing at Wilson Central High School.
The Mocs will also feature a pair of familiar faces on the coaching staff. Former Chattanooga standouts Kerim Hyatt and Ryan Mudre will serve as assistant coaches under Merzbacher during the 2026-27 season.
Chattanooga opens its fall schedule at the Austin Peay Fall Invitational in Clarksville, Tenn., from September 11-13. The Mocs will then compete in the ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla., beginning September 19.
The team returns home October 2-4 to host the annual UTC Steve Baras Fall Invite and SoCon Play-Off at the UTC Tennis Center. Chattanooga's eight-event fall slate also includes the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships, the UTR Sports/NCAA Division I Invite and the annual UTC Alumni Match.
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.
Chattanooga finished the 2025-26 campaign with a 12-13 overall record and advanced to the semifinal round of both the Southern Conference Tournament and the UTR Sports National Invitational Tournament. The Mocs defeated UNCG 4-3 in the SoCon quarterfinals before falling to Samford, then earned a 4-1 victory over North Carolina Central to reach the UTR Sports NIT semifinals for the second consecutive season.
While the Mocs return five starters from last year's lineup, the team will enter the fall looking to replace three graduates: Cortland Grove, Kristof Kincses and Carter Ramthun. The trio provided Chattanooga with valuable experience throughout their careers and regularly contributed across both singles and doubles play.
Even with those departures, Chattanooga brings back an experienced group led by senior Jakub Jupa, who earned All-Southern Conference honors last season. Jupa occupied the No. 1 singles position throughout the spring and put together a 13-match winning streak during dual competition.
The returning group also features seniors Martin Delnido and Jaxon Lamb, along with juniors Julian Franzmann, Sebastian Johnson, Jackson Orsega and TJ Ryerson. Franzmann and Lamb were regularly paired together in doubles last spring, while Delnido, Franzmann and Ryerson all saw significant time in the singles lineup."It certainly has been a very hot offseason to begin the new academic year. I am impressed with this group already as we will quickly jump into match play, and see what lies ahead for our doubles teams and singles lineups. Obviously, the fall sets the tone for what the spring season can be." - Chuck Merzbacher, Head Coach
Chattanooga introduces two new players: Maxime Aremon, a transfer from Cleveland State, and freshman Alejandro Conde. Aremon arrives after spending two seasons with the Vikings, where he contributed in both singles and doubles and climbed as high as No. 84 in the ITA Division I national doubles rankings. Conde joins the program from Mt. Juliet, Tenn., after competing at Wilson Central High School.
The Mocs will also feature a pair of familiar faces on the coaching staff. Former Chattanooga standouts Kerim Hyatt and Ryan Mudre will serve as assistant coaches under Merzbacher during the 2026-27 season.
Chattanooga opens its fall schedule at the Austin Peay Fall Invitational in Clarksville, Tenn., from September 11-13. The Mocs will then compete in the ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla., beginning September 19.
The team returns home October 2-4 to host the annual UTC Steve Baras Fall Invite and SoCon Play-Off at the UTC Tennis Center. Chattanooga's eight-event fall slate also includes the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships, the UTR Sports/NCAA Division I Invite and the annual UTC Alumni Match.
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.
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