The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team opens the season this weekend at the UNC Greensboro Fall Invitational in Greensboro, N.C. The Mocs are sending six individuals to compete in the four-draw event. Action begins on Friday, Sept. 10 and runs through Sunday, Sept. 12.
Chattanooga will face off against representatives from eight other regional teams, including the host Spartans, Belmont, Elon, The Citadel, Gardner-Webb, Kennesaw State, UNC Asheville and Tennessee Tech.
Sophomore Roberto Vieira (Bedfordview, South Africa) leads the Mocs in the A1 main draw. The 2010 SoCon Freshman of the Year is set to face Ural Ates of Gardner-Webb in the opening round. Vieira is the No. 3 seed in the top bracket that includes 2010 SoCon Player of the Orcun Seyrek of UNCG. Belmont's Rodrigo Amaral is the No. 2 seed.
Vieira won his last six matches of 2010, finishing with a 14-7 singles record. His 14 wins were the most on the team. One of his losses was to Amaral (3-6, 3-6) but he did not face Seyrek in dual match action.
Sophomore Chris Smith (Johnson City, Tenn.) was second on the team with 11 singles wins in 2010. He is the No. 1 seed in the A2 draw and will receive a bye into the second round. There he will face the winner of Josh Girling (TTU) and Nicolai Nonnebroich (UNCA)
Sophomore Jackson Tresnan (Apopka, Fla.) and junior Sam Parfitt (Norwich, England) are both slated to compete in the A3 draw. Tresnan is the No. 2 seed while Parfitt goes up against Ryan Matthews of UNC Asheville in the first round. Sophomore Stephen Crofford (Franklin, Tenn.) and freshman Trent Cobb (Melbourne, Australia) are both in the A4 draw. Cobb drew the No. 3 seed and will face Tennessee Tech's Lloyd Harris. Crofford faces Andrew Clark of UNCG in the opening round.
Teams will also compete in two doubles draws during the weekend. Smith and Vieira are the No. 2 seed in the A draw that also includes Cobb and Tresnan. Crofford and Parfitt are teaming up in the B draw.
The Mocs are led by head coach Carlos Garcia who is entering his 10th season at UTC. For a complete list of draws and results, click on the tournament link at the top of the page.
