University of Tennessee - Chattanooga Men's Tennis

Program Achievements at Chattanooga 2025 National Invitational Tournament (NIT) Champions First National Title in Program History 2026 National Invitational Tournament (NIT) Semifinalist 2023 Southern Conference Regular Season Champions Finished 18-7 Overall; 6-1 SoCon First SoCon Regular Season Title in Program History Most Wins (18) in a Season Since 2005 Finished SoCon Tournament Runner-Up; First Since 2005 No. 7 Ranking (Final ITA Ohio Valley Region Rankings; 2023) 106 Wins at UTC (3rd All-Time; entering 2026-27) 9 ITA All-Academic Team Awards (every season) Player Achievements Under Merzbacher 32 Academic All-Southern Conference Selections 23 All-Southern Conference Selections 10 Southern Conference Player of the Week Awards 7 Southern Conference All-Freshmen Selections 2024 Freshman of the Year (Jakub Jupa) 2019 Freshman of the Year (Kerim Hyatt) 3 Southern Conference Player of the Month Awards 3 Buddy Hartsell Sportsmanship Award Winners Niklas Gerdes (2018 & 2019) Turner Voges (2021) 2 ITA Ohio Valley Region Championship Runner-Ups (Doubles) Jakub Jupa/Cortland Grove (2025) Tomas Rodriguez/Peyton Gatti (2021) No. 17 Jakub Jupa/Cortland Grove (Final ITA Fall National Doubles Rankings; 2025) Additional Achievements 2023 Southern Conference Coach of the Year 2019 Southern Conference Coach of the Year 500+ Victories as NCAA Division I Head Coach Earned 100th win at Chattanooga on March 17, 2026 9 NCAA Tournament Appearances as Head Coach 8 NCAA Division I Conference Championships Chuck Merzbacher will enter his 10th season at Chattanooga heading into the 2026-27 season. The 2023 and 2019 Southern Conference Coach of the Year has made a tremendous impact on the program and earned his 100th victory as the Mocs leader on March 17, 2026.   During the 2025 season, Merzbacher led the Chattanooga program to its first postseason tournament championship in 25 years (2000 SoCon Tournament) after claiming the 2025 National Invitational Tournament (NIT) title. The Mocs defeated N.C. Central (W, 4-3) in the semifinals before downing Saint Mary's (CA) (W, 5-2) in the championship match on May 9, 2025, at the Rome Tennis Center in Rome, Ga. The 2025 edition of the Mocs finished with a 15-11 overall record and a 4-3 tally inside SoCon play, marking the team's fifth double-digit victory season and fourth winning SoCon regular season under Merzbacher. Chattanooga finished with a 12-13 overall record in 2026 and made its second-straight appearance in the NIT event, reaching the semifinal stage before bowing out to top-seeded Virginia Tech. The team has posted 10+ wins in each of the past four seasons to mark its longest such streak since a stretch from 2005-2008. Over the past four seasons, UTC's 55 total victories are the most over a four-season span since the program collected 64 during the same 2005-2008 campaigns.  Merzbacher, the 2023 Southern Conference Coach of the Year, led the team to a historic 2023 season after concluding the season 18-7 overall and 6-1 in Southern Conference action. Behind the 6-1 league record, Merzbacher notched the program's first ever Southern Conference Regular Season title. He would lead the team to its first appearance in the SoCon Tournament title match since 2006 as the top-seeded team in the event. The team's 18 wins marked the most wins for the program since 2005 while featuring six student-athletes earning All-SoCon honors during the process. On March 19, 2023, Chattanooga defeated The Citadel 6-1 to capture Merzbacher's 500th career collegiate victory as a head coach at the NCAA Division I ranks.  In just his second year in 2019, he guided Chattanooga to a 14-11 overall record, the most wins for the program since 2012.  UTC finished third in the SoCon race, its highest finish in the regular season standings since 1999.  UTC's 4-3 league tally was the most conference wins in a season since 2013.  That earned him league Coach of the Year honors, the first for a Moc since Tommy Bartlett in 1989.   Chattanooga was poised for another strong season in 2020.  The Mocs were 12-6 overall when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the season. During the 2020-21 season, the squad finished 9-11 overall and 3-4 inside conference play. During the 2021-22 fall season, Merzbacher helped lead the doubles team of Tomas Rodriguez and Peyton Gatti to program history when the tandem finished runner-up at the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships which led to an at-large berth into the ITA Fall National Championships held in San Diego, California. Both of the accomplishments were unchartered territory for the program. Academically, the program was recognized by the NCAA for having a perfect APR score for the second year in a row. Following the Fall 2021 semester, the program posted a 3.468 team GPA which was the second highest on record, falling just shy of the 3.650 mark which was set in the spring of 2020. 10 of the 11 on the roster made the A.D. Honor Roll, continuing a run of five-straight terms with 10+ posting a 3.0 GPA or better. A program record eight individuals made the 2020 ITA All-Academic team and UTC had a program record 3.65 team GPA in the spring of 2020. A 31-year veteran of NCAA Division I tennis coaching, Merzbacher has led men's and women's program at three others schools before coming to UTC.   Prior to UTC, Merzbacher served most recently as the head women's tennis coach at the University of Minnesota.  He posted a 70-58 record during a five-year tenure from 2013-17.  He also was the head women's coach at Ohio State (1997-12) and Kansas (1993-96) and the men's head coach at Northern Illinois (1990-92). Merzbacher owns a career record of 532-413 (.563) and has eight conference titles on his resume.  He coached six individual All-Americans and his teams made 12 NCAA postseason appearances.  A native of Findlay, Ohio, Merzbacher took over at Minnesota after 16 successful seasons at Ohio State.  During his tenure with the Buckeyes, they reached the NCAA Tournament nine times and posted 209 victories to become the winningest coach in program history. Merzbacher launched his head coaching career with the men's program at Northern Illinois University in 1989.  He led the Huskies for three seasons, earning back-to-back Mid-Continent Coach of the Year honors in 1991 and 1992. He then moved to coach the women's side at the University of Kansas from 1992 to 1996, gathering four consecutive Big Eight Conference championships, two Big Eight Coach of the Year titles (1993, 1994), one Central Region Coach of the Year award (1994).  Under his guidance, the Jayhawks posted an impressive 39-1 conference record (83-29 overall). A 1987 graduate of the University of Minnesota, Merzbacher is the Gophers' all-time career wins leader with 137 singles victories.  He also holds the No. 3 and No. 11 spots for wins in a single season. Merzbacher finished his Gopher career as a three-time All-Big Ten selection and two-time NCAA national qualifier. As a freshman in 1984, he established his collegiate credibility with a Big Ten Conference No. 4 singles title. Minnesota won Big Ten titles in 1984 and 1986 and amassed a record of 42-7 in conference play. After a brief stint as Minnesota's assistant coach in 1987, Merzbacher tried his hand on the professional circuit. He was ranked as high as No. 354 in singles and No. 335 in doubles, making international showings in both the Australian Open and the Wimbledon qualifier in 1989. Merzbacher and his wife, Cherie, are the parents of Chad and Caitlyn. Awards 2023 SoCon Coach of the Year 2019 SoCon Coach of the Year 1999 Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year 1996 Big Eight Conference Coach of the Year 1993 ITA Central Region Coach of the Year 1993 Big Eight Conference Coach of the Year 1992 Mid-Continent Conference Coach of the Year 1991 Mid-Continent Conference Coach of the Year Chuck Merzbacher Career Record Year School Overall Conf. Place Postseason 1990 Northern Illinois 18-12 6-1 2nd 1991 Northern Illinois 19-8 6-0 1st 1992 Northern Illinois 13-14 3-0 1st 1993 Kansas 19-7 10-0 1st NCAA Participant 1994 Kansas 24-3 10-0 1st NCAA Participant 1995 Kansas 19-13 10-0 1st 1996 Kansas 21-17 9-1 1st NCAA Participant 1997 Ohio State 12-13 4-6 7th 1998 Ohio State 10-14 2-8 8th 1999 Ohio State 14-11 6-4 6th NCAA Participant 2000 Ohio State 18-8 9-2 T1st NCAA Participant 2001 Ohio State 17-11 7-3 3rd NCAA Participant 2002 Ohio State 19-7 7-4 3rd NCAA Participant 2003 Ohio State 12-12 6-4 T4th NCAA Participant 2004 Ohio State 14-14 6-5 T2nd NCAA Participant 2005 Ohio State 7-19 2-8 9th 2006 Ohio State 13-13 3-7 7th 2007 Ohio State 18-10 6-4 5th 2008 Ohio State 19-8 6-4 5th NCAA Participant 2009 Ohio State 15-11 7-3 4th NCAA Participant 2010 Ohio State 20-10 5-5 T5th NCAA Participant 2011 Ohio State 15-11 7-3 4th 2012 Ohio State 10-16 4-7 T7th 2013 Minnesota 10-15 3-8 T8th 2014 Minnesota 17-9 6-5 5th 2015 Minnesota 17-10 6-5 T6th 2016 Minnesota 13-12 5-6 T6th 2017 Minnesota 13-12 5-6 T7th 2018 Chattanooga 8-16 1-6 7th 2019 Chattanooga 14-11 4-3 3rd 2020 Chattanooga 12-6 1-1 * 2021   Chattanooga 9-11 3-4 5th 2022 Chattanooga 8-16 4-3 4th 2023 Chattanooga 18-7 6-1 1st SoCon Reg. Title 2024 Chattanooga 10-15 3-4 5th 2025 Chattanooga 15-11 4-3 4th NIT Champions 2026 Chattanooga 12-13 4-3 3rd NIT Semifinals at Chattanooga (9 Yrs) 106-106 (.500) 30-28 (.517) Totals 36 years 544-426 (.562) 196-151 (.565) *2020 season was cut short due to COVID-19 pandemic