CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (February 8, 2024) – The University of North Alabama men's tennis team returns to the court Friday, Feb. 9 at 1 p.m. to take on the Chattanooga Mocs in Tennessee with hopes of starting a win streak.
The Lions are coming off of a positive week that saw UNA get their first two wins of the season in Louisiana. Competing in a weather-shortened Cajun Winter Classic in Lafayette, North Alabama defeated UT Arlington 4-3 and Texas Rio Grande Valley 4-0 to leave unbeaten after one day of action.
UNA was led by junior Nazar Fedoryshyn, sophomore Lachlan Brain, sophomore Federico Scotuzzi and freshman Izan Orgiles with three wins apiece, while freshman Birtan Duran followed with two for a combined 14 wins in Louisiana.
First serve from Chattanooga will begin at 5:30 EST and 4:30 p.m. CST for fans following along in the Shoals from the Strang-Voges Tennis Center. Fans can follow along with live stats and streaming, with full results and a recap posted on RoarLions.com following the action.
MATCH 1
North Alabama at Chattanooga
Friday, February 9, 2024
4:30 p.m. CST/5:30 p.m. EST
Live Stats | Watch
SCOUTING THE LIONS: North Alabama will look start a three-game win streak after earning wins against the Mavericks and Vaqueros last time out. Duran leads the Lions in singles victories with three, while Fedoryshyn, Brain and Scotuzzi all have three wins in doubles.
SCOUTING THE MOCS: Chattanooga hosts the Lions after picking up their first wins of the season at home against Tennessee State and Sewanee on Feb. 4. The Mocs are led in single victories by sophomore Cortland Grove with 10, while senior Peyton Gatti/freshman Jakub Jupa lead in doubles win for Chattanooga with 11. UTC is coached by Chuck Merzbacher in his sixth season.
LAST TIME OUT: In the last meeting between North Alabama and Chattanooga, the Mocs took a close 4-3 victory back to Tennessee on Feb. 18, 2023. UTC opened with the doubles point, then the two teams split two wins each in the first four singles matches. Chattanooga would ultimately win two of the remaining three matches to take the dual win. UNA will be in search of their first win over Chattanooga since Feb. 20, 2016, as the Mocs have won four straight in the series.
FALL RECAP: North Alabama had a fall to remember, as the Lions won 23 matches to outplay Jacksonville State, Samford and Kennesaw State in the fall opener. UNA then totaled 15 wins at the Samford Hidden Dual and a milestone victory by Brain at the ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla. Brain became the first individual at UNA to win an ITA All-American match at the Division I level. More wins were added at the ITA Southern Regionals in Auburn, the UTC Steve Baras Invite in Chattanooga, the CCB Collegiate Invite in Birmingham and the UNA Invitational at home in Florence.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
