The UTM men’s tennis team suffered two upsets when they lost to Jacksonville State and Samford over the past weekend.

Against Samford, No. one ranked Gustavo Anzola beat Manuel Miletic 2-6, lost his second match 7-6, then won the tie-breaker 6-2, earning UTM’s only win of the day. No. two ranked Dirk Prinsloo won his first match against Stuart Minsner 5-7, lost his second match 6-4 and the tiebreaker 6-2. No. three ranked Ben Hatchwell lost both of his matches 6-1 and a hardfought 7-6. No. four ranked Daniel McGuire also lost both of his matches 6-3 and 6-2. No. five ranked Adolfo Anzola fell to Hank Grant 6-1 and 6-3, and No. six ranked Chris Slabbert lost to Johnny Griffee 6-4 and 6-2.

In doubles, the Anzola brothers lost to the Miletic and Silveira duo 8-3. Hatchwell and Prinsloo fell to Minsner and Grant 8-5, and Slabbert and McGuire lost to Griffee and Bruce 8-3.

They played again on March 5, with Gustavo Anzola losing to Jacksonville State’s Vedran Sirola in a 6-2, 6-0 upset. Prinsloo beat opponent Arturo Nieto 3-6, then lost in a 6-1 match, also losing the tie-breaker in a hard-fought 10-8. Hatchwell lost to Rodney Rapson 6-3 for both matches. McGuire also lost both matches to Andres Amores 6-4. Adolfo Anzola lost his first match against Kieran Ricci 6-1, then fought hard but lost the second match 7-5. Slabbert lost to his opponent Christian Rybertt 6-1 and 6-0.

In the doubles competition, the Anzola brothers lost to Sirola and Rapson 8-6. Prinsloo and Hatchwell lost to Nieto and Ricci 8-4, and McGuire and Slabbert lost to Amores and Rybertt 8-4. After this game, UTM stood 2-2 overall, and 1-2 in the OVC.

The women’s tennis team also traveled to Samford. No. one ranked Sari Nortje defeated opponent Emily White 6-1 and 6-2. No. two ranked Katrina Domela lost her first match to Sarah McKey 3-6, but then won her second match 6-3 and the tiebreaker 6-1. No. three ranked Jeanne De Wet lost both of her matches 6-4 and 6-1 to Katie McMiller. No. four ranked Elly Shearman defeated her opponent Bethany Benson 6-2 and 6-0. No. five ranked Gayatri Ramesh lost her first match to Katie Crawford 2-6, but one her second match 6-4 and the tie-breaker 6-3. No. six ranked Elizma Schoonees defeated Christie Baker 6-2 and 6-1.

In the doubles competition, the team on Nortje and Domela were defeated by White and McKey 8-0. De Wet and Ramesh beat Crawford and Benson 8-5, with Shearman and Schoonees defeating McMiller and Baker 8-1.

They played again on March 6 at Jacksonville State. Nortje defeated opponent Zeynep Gurkaynak 6-3 and 6-1. Domela beat Robin Gorman 6-2 and 6-3. De Wet lost to Michelle Dushner, fighting but losing in a 7-5 upset, then again 6-3. Shearman defeated Erin Higgs in her first match 6-4, lost in the second 3-6, then fought hard for the tie-breaker 10-3. Ramesh defeated her opponent Layla Abby 6-2 and 6-2, with Schoonees defeating Babette Lombardo 6-1 and 6-0.

In the doubles competition, Nortje and Domela defeated Dushner and Lombardo 8-3, but Ramesh and De Wet couldn’t hold off Gorman and Abby, losing in a hard-fought 9-7. Schoonees and Shearman defeated Gurkaynak and Higgs in a close 9-8. UTM now stands at 4-0 overall, and 3-0 in the OVC.