Four Mocs Travel to ITA All-American Championships

Saturday, October 5

Tulsa, Okla.

All Day

Chattanooga

ITA All-American Championships

Senior Simon Bustamante (r) and sophomore Kerim Hyatt (l) are two of the four Mocs in action this weekend.

Photo by: Dale Rutemeyer

10/3/2019 12:21:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Draws

Two seniors and two sophomores set to compete in Tulsa, Okla.

Select members of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's tennis team compete in the 2019 Saint Francis Health System/ITA Men's All-American Championships beginning this weekend in Tulsa, Okla.

Seniors Niklas Gerdes and Simon Bustamante and sophomores Tomas Rodriguez and Kerim Hyatt are all in the pre-qualifying singles bracket that begins Saturday, Oct. 5. Bustamante and Hyatt, along with Gerdes and Rodriguez, make up the Mocs on-site alternates for the pre-qualifying doubles competition.

"We are excited about having four Mocs in the All-American Championships," stated UTC men's tennis head coach Chuck Merzbacher. "Niklas and Simon return after playing last year, and our two outstanding sophomores get a chance to line up against the best in collegiate tennis in their first appearance at this event.

"It is really a great experience for all of them."

The pre-qualifying singles draw includes 256 automatic, at-large and wild card selections, with the final 16 advancing to the qualifying draw on Oct. 7-8.

The qualifying draw has 112 automatic, at-large and wild card selections, plus the 16 players from prequalifying tournament. Individuals must win three rounds to advance to the main draw on Oct. 9-13.

The main draw is made up of 48 automatic, at-large and wild card selections and the 16 players from the qualifying tournament.
Gerdes advanced to the second round of the pre-qualifying draw last season, while Bustamante scored a win in the consolation bracket.

"All four of our guys will have a chance at playing in the doubles qualifying, but we will not know until later this weekend," added Merzbacher. "I believe we have two teams, Niklas and Tomas, Kerim and Simon, that could go far in the tourney if given the chance."

Draws will be added to this story when they are finalized, either Thursday evening or Friday morning. Complete results from each day of action can also be found on GoMocs.com.