The Chattanooga men’s tennis team suffered a 5-2 setback at Davidson on Wednesday, dropping the Mocs to 5-2 overall and 1-1 in Southern Conference action this spring. The Wildcats improved to 7-3 overall and 1-0 in SoCon play.
Davidson won the doubles point by taking two of the three matches. After losing the first doubles contest, seniors Manuel Barreotavena and Jackson Tresnan captured an 8-6 victory over Kevin Moore and Chris Mark at No. 2, for the duo’s sixth win this spring and second straight.
Seniors Chris Smith and Roberto Vieira looked to clinch the doubles point in their tight bout with Ethan Kallick and Joe Schafer at No. 1, but the UTC pair came up just short. Tied at 8-8, the match went to a tiebreaker, but Davidson took the final frame 7-5.
Vieira was defeated at No. 1, straining his leg in the second set against Nicky Kunz, before dropping the match (7-5, 6-1). Sophomore Pavels Girgorjevs also suffered a (6-2, 6-0) singles loss to Mark at No. 5.
Smith got UTC on the board with his (6-4, 6-2) win over Robert Lightbourn at No. 3, but Davidson went on to clinch the match in a three-setter at No. 2, as Barreotavena suffered a (4-6, 6-2, 6-3) setback to Schafer.
Ankit Chopra posted the Mocs’ other point, though the match’s outcome was already decided. The senior defeated Alex Howard (6-3, 6-3) at No. 6.
The Mocs return to action this afternoon at Gardner-Webb. First serve is set for 2 p.m. in Boiling Springs, N.C.