Chad Camper has taken what he was given and run with it.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga women's tennis coach, who took over for Jeff Clark in August, has led the Mocs to a 12-4 record and a 2-1 mark in the Southern Conference heading into Friday's nonconference match at home against Western Kentucky.
Camper inherited a youthful roster that lost four of the seven who played in the Mocs' loss to East Tennessee State in the 2016 SoCon semifinals. Clark's final team finished 15-8.
Former Baylor School standout Samantha Caswell moved up to the No. 1 position and is 9-5 during the 2017 portion of the schedule. Wisconsin transfer Caroline Hall is 9-2 playing at No. 3 singles, while fellow sophomore Sydney Patton is 10-1 playing at the No. 4 spot.
The Mocs have four conference matches prior to the SoCon tournament in Greenville, S.C.
Golf women 13th
Led by Monica San Juan, the UTC women's golf team finished 13th at the Henssler Intercollegiate in Kennesaw, Ga.
San Juan shot an even-par 72 and had a three-day score of 223, matching that of Megan Woods, who played as an individual. Cristina Perez shot a 77 on Tuesday and 225 over the three days, while Holly Morgan shot a 78 and a 229.
Maria Pineiro was the team's final counting score Tuesday with a 79, but she finished four shots behind Maddy McDanel over the three days (232 to 236).
Kent State claimed the team win. The 13th-ranked Golden Flashes overcame a six-shot Purdue advantage for a one-shot victory.
Purdue's Augusta Kim and Kent State's Pimnipa Panthong shared medalist honors at 3 under par.
Home again, almost
After a program-record 23 consecutive games on the road, the UTC softball team will be home this weekend to host Samford in Southern Conference action. The Mocs, coming off a 2-1 series loss at Mercer last weekend, have a nonconference game against Tennessee State in Nashville tonight before the three-game set against the Bulldogs.
Celie Hudson picked up her first pitching win of the season Saturday. The freshman finally joined the rotation after a back injury and defeated the Bears 4-3, allowing only one earned run in the win.
Sophomore Ashley Conner remains the team's best hitter, with a .387 batting average. She was 4-for-8 last weekend, while freshman Aly Walker was 3-for-4 in the win.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.