Bears To Begin SoCon Play Sunday Against UTC

Sunday, March 8

Macon, Ga.

2:30 p.m.

Mercer University

Chattanooga

3/7/2020 10:40:00 AM | Men's Tennis

@MercerMTennis

The Bears are in action for the first time this week at 2:30 p.m. Sunday

By: Kraig Doremus

MACON, Ga. – The Mercer men's tennis team will return to action for the first time in seven days when the Chattanooga Mocs visit Macon on Sunday for a 2:30 p.m. contest.

The match is the first Southern Conference battle for the Bears while Chattanooga is currently 1-0 in SoCon action thanks to a 7-0 shutout of The Citadel on February 22.

Mercer's Olivier Stuart remains in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's singles poll despite falling 25 spots to 71^st. Stuart is 7-4 on the year but has had tough luck recently with losses to a pair of ranked opponents.

Lucas Wayenburg has shown versatility for the Bears by playing anywhere from No. 4 to No. 6. He has compiled a 5-7 singles mark with three of his wins coming in the No. 6 flight.

Stuart and Hugo Lobo lead Mercer's doubles pairings with a 6-6 record in the top flight.

Gameday Lineup
Date: Sunday, March 8 | 2:30 p.m. (ET)
Teams: Mercer (3-10, 0-0 SoCon) vs. Chattanooga (12-4, 1-0 SoCon)
Location: Macon, Ga. | LeRoy Peddy Tennis Center

Scouting the Mocs
The Mocs are 12-4 overall and reeled off eight consecutive wins after a loss to Alabama to begin the season.

Recently, it has been a struggle for UTC for two of the past three matches. The Mocs dropped a 4-3 decision to the Troy Trojans (Feb. 28) and also lost to Tennessee Tech, 5-2 (Mar. 1) before defeating Toledo on Friday night, 5-2. UTC is led by Niklas Gerdes who is 15-1 at No. 1 singles. Jeffrey Dewald is 12-3 in the No. 3 flight while Simon Bustamante is 9-2 at No. 5.

In doubles action, the pairing of Bustamante and Kerim Hyatt is 8-6 at No. 1 whereas Gerdes and Tomas Rodriguez are 11-0 at No. 2. DeWald and Luke Plaisted are 4-4 in the No. 3 position.

Follow the Bears
For complete coverage of Mercer Men's Tennis, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerMTennis (Twitter) and /MercerMensTennis (Facebook) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.