Men extend win streak; women fall to 3-7

By Jacob Vannucci
Staff ReporterDespite losing a key player, the UTC men's tennis team extended their winning streak to eight last weekend, winning two matches at home. The women's tennis team dropped three matches last weekend.

On Friday, UTC's Tim Mittiga, a Hazelwood Park, South Australia sophomore, was ruled ineligible to play due to a technicality in the transfer process, according to coach Carlos Garcia.

Mittiga was slated for the No. 1 spot in doubles and No. 5 in singles.

"It does affect our depth," Garcia said, "but it's a good opportunity for the rest of the team to step up their game."

Saturday, the men's team opened Southern Conference play without Mittiga against UNC Greensboro at the Hixson Racquet Club. The Mocs won 5-2 even though the Spartans claimed two of the doubles matches and the No.1 singles match, where Andrey Bubnov defeated UTC's Badr Bouabdellah, a Casablanca, Morocco junior.

"I was proud of the way our guys responded," Garcia said. "They didn't panic after losing the doubles matches and kept playing hard."

Sunday, the men faced off against Birmingham-Southern College, defeating the Panthers 6-1. Peter Sauska, a sophomore from Budapest, Hungary, extended his personal winning streak to eight, defeating Richard Walsh.

Birmingham-Southern's only win came as Pavel Vostikov, an Orenburg, Russia, sophomore, fell to Michael Locandro.

The UTC women's tennis team hosted Middle Tennessee State University Tues., Feb. 20. The No. 1 match was the highlight of the day, as UTC's Anastasia Zhukova, a Moscow, Russia junior, put her 18- match winning streak on the line against another nationally ranked opponent, MTSU's Hala Sufi. The No. 46 Sufi won the first and last sets 6-1, 4-6, 6-3, claiming the victory. The Mocs did not win a match and lost to the Blue Raiders 7-0.

Coach Tom Lowry said, "Middle Tennessee is a very deep team. They respond to their No. 1 player and follow her lead. They are not ranked as a team at the moment but likely will be at the end of the year."

The Lady Mocs traveled to Birmingham-Southern Saturday to face the Panthers, but lost 4-3. Both Zhukova and her doubles partner, Lindsey Ballard, a Lilburn, Ga. sophomore, won their doubles match and their respective singles matches.

Sunday, the women visited the University of Alabama-Birmingham. The meet was played on only singles matches. Zhukova and Ballard won theirs but UTC dropped the rest, losing 4-2.

Beata Knizat, a Niagra-on-the-Lake, Ontario freshman, took her match against Annemieke Elsholz to three sets but ended up losing the match 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.

The men's tennis team's record is currently 10-2 and will play their next match against Davidson, hosting their Southern Conference foe Sat., March 3. The women's tennis team sits at 3-7. They will open their Southern Conference play Sat., March 3, against Georgia Southern in Chattanooga.

"This is one of the best years in terms of competition in the Southern Conference," Garcia said. "Any team is capable of winning, but I am pretty optimistic about our chances because I have a group of guys that will play hard in every match.