Chattanooga 7, Belmont 0
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team scored a big 7-0 win over Belmont today. It was the first shutout of a Division I opponent for the Mocs since defeating Murray State 7-0 on Feb. 22, 2008. UTC improves to 3-6 on the year while the Bruins dropped to 0-2.
Coupled with a 5-2 win over Jacksonville State on Sunday, Chattanooga has now posted back-to-back wins for the first time in almost three years. The last time UTC won two in a row was a pair of 4-3 victories over Wofford and Georgia Southern on April 1 and 6 in 2008.
The Mocs took the doubles point for the second match in a row. Sophomore William Disterdick and freshman Trent Cobb cruised to an 8-1 win over Jonathan Murrell and Christopher Bates at No. 3. The Mocs duo is now 4-1 in spring doubles action.
Sophomores Jackson Tresnan and Stephen Crofford fell to Bruno Silva and Felipe Cirne Lima 8-2 at No. 2, setting up the deciding match at No. 1.
Chattanooga sophomores Roberto Vieira and Chris Smith battled Rodrigo Amaral and Rafael Matos to a stalemate at 8-8, forcing a tiebreaker. The Mocs dominated the final frame, jumping out to a 6-1 lead before winning 7-3.
"It is always nice to get the doubles point," stated head coach Carolos Garcia, who won his 99th men's tennis match at UTC today. "That tiebreaker at No. 1 doubles set the tone for the singles matches and gave us a lot of momentum."
Disterdick put UTC up 2-0 with a lightning-quick 6-0, 6-1 win over Bates at No. 6. Smith followed that up with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Silva at No. 3.
Tresnan continued his impressive spring season with his fifth-straight singles win. He posted a 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 win over Lima to improve to 5-0 at No. 4. Vieira snapped a four-match slide with his 6-3, 1-6, 6-1 win over Amaral at No. 1.
Cobb posted a come-from-behind 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 win over Matos for his second win in a row at No. 2. Senior Rick vn de Bovenkamp outlasted Murrell 6-2, 5-7, 1-0 in the final match at No. 5.
"Our top four did a good job today," added Garcia. "We took away their strengths because their top guys can play with anybody. It was also nice to see Roberto get out of his slump and get some confidence. This was a big win for us today."
The Mocs are back in action on Thursday, March 3 when they host Lee University. Match time against the Flames is set for 2:30 p.m. (E.S.T.) on the UTC Tennis Courts.
Samford 7, North Alabama 0
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The Samford University men's tennis team extended its winning streak to five straight matches Friday as the Bulldogs breezed to a 7-0 home triumph against the North Alabama Lions in an early-season, non-conference duel held at the Samford Tennis Center.
With the victory, Samford (6-1) remained undefeated at home and improved to 6-0 when playing at the Samford Tennis Center. In their six matches at home this season, the Bulldogs have yet to relinquish at point and have outscored the competition by a mark of 42-0.
North Alabama (0-5) has yet to record a victory this season and remained winless in dual-match play at this point of the 2011 campaign.
Samford swept Friday's doubles matches and took an early 1-0 lead in its contest against North Alabama.
The Bulldogs then won all six singles matches in straight sets to register the dominant 7-0 victory. Samford tallied wins in the singles competition from Carson Kadi, Zac Dunkle, Carl Abalos, Oliver Reynolds, Fernando Costa and Alexander Sajonz.
With his dominant 6-1, 6-0 victory against Rob Whitsitt on court No. 3 Friday, Samford's Abalos improved his record in singles play to 6-0 this season. With their respective wins against North Alabama, the Bulldogs' Costa, Dunkle, Kadi, Reynolds and Sajonz all improved their singles record to 5-1.
As a team this season, Samford has outscored its opponents in singles play by a total of 37-5. In doubles play, the Bulldogs have registered a lopsided 18-3 margin. Samford's doubles combination of Dunkle and Sajonz has led the way with an unblemished 6-0 record this season.
The Samford University men's tennis team will next be in action March 4 at 6 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs continue their month-long, nine-match homestand against the UAB Blazers. The intra-city showdown will be held at the Samford Tennis Center.