The Chattanooga men’s and women’s tennis team’s have postponed their matches scheduled for Saturday against Lee University. The pair of matches were originally scheduled as a double-header, but the threat of inclement weather has pushed the contests to later in the season.
Both teams will be back in action Sunday, though, when the Mocs travel to UAB to face the Blazers at 10 a.m., and the Lady Mocs hosts a 2 p.m. match against UT-Martin at the UTC Tennis Courts at 2 p.m.
The Chattanooga women are off to its best start since 1991, winning each of its first five matches. The Lady Mocs are on a school-record run of four consecutive shutouts, and they’ve only dropped one point. UTC captured a 6-1 win in last year’s meeting with the Skyhawks.
UTM, which is coming off backt-to-back Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Championships, is 0-1 on the year after its season-opening loss to Memphis on Jan. 16. The Skyhawks were picked second in the OVC preseason poll, led by the league’s No. 2 player Ivon Simic.
The Lady Mocs are led by senior Jenna Nurik, the reigning Southern Conference Women’s Tennis Player of the Week. Nurik’s off to a 5-0 start in singles action this spring, and she’s 4-1 in doubles, teaming up with sophomore Kaylene Chadwell.
The men’s team is also looking to continue its hot start to the spring season. The Mocs, 5-2 on the year, are coming off a 6-1 victory at Murray State last Sunday. One of their losses was a hard-fought 4-3 setback to Austin Peay last Friday, and the other was a 5-2 defeat to No. 63 Georgia State in the squad’s season opener.
The Blazers are 2-6 overall and will face crosstown rival Samford on Friday before welcoming Chattanooga on Sunday. UAB has wins over Florida A&M (4-2) and Florida Gulf Coast (5-2), and losses to Florida State (9-2), Arkansas (3-4), Auburn (1-6), Alabama (2-5), MTSU (1-6) and Yale (3-4). The Blazers won last year’s meeting with the Mocs 5-1.
UTC’s Manuel Barroetavena is the reigning Southern Conference Men’s Tennis Player of the Week. The senior is 7-0 this spring and has spent time in each of the top 3 singles slots. He has a 4-1 record in doubles action, teaming up with fellow senior Jackson Tresnan