University of Tennessee Athletics
Sunday, February 14
Champaign, IL
1 PM
University of Tennessee
4
vs
2
Texas
Photo by: Caleb Jones/Tennessee Athletics
No. 10 Vols Battle Past Fifth-Ranked Texas, 4-2
February 14, 2021 | Men's Tennis
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Two comprehensive victories in doubles, and a clutch clinch from graduate student Luca Wiedenmann propelled the 10th-ranked Tennessee men's tennis team past No. 5 Texas on Sunday at the Atkins Tennis Center.
The win marked UT's (10-1) first victory over Texas (8-3) since 2010, in a series dating to 1974.
"This week was a wonderful opportunity for our team to improve," head coach Chris Woodruff said. "We didn't look at this event as any bigger moment than another. It's like the great coach John Madden said, 'Is there ever not a big game?' We have a great group of people both on and off the court that make success possible and I certainly appreciate all they do."
UT opened things up with a dominant performance in doubles action. The tandems of junior Martim Prata and freshman Johannus Monday and senior Adam Walton and junior Pat Harper, rolled to 6-2 victories to give the Vols the early 1-0 advantage.
In singles play, UT grabbed the opening set on all six courts, before Texas fought back to force four third sets.
Senior Andrew Rogers earned his first singles win of the dual season with a straight-set triumph on court six to double the UT advantage. The Brentwood, Tennessee native knocked off Evin McDonald, 7-6(4), 6-3.
Minutes later, Monday clinched his own match in straight-sets. After battling to win an opening set tiebreak, Monday reeled off wins in four straight games in the second to earn his ninth victory of the dual season and put Tennessee up, 3-0.
Losses from graduate student Giles Hussey on court four and Prata at No. 3 brought Texas back within striking distance with two matches still on court.
At No. 5, graduate student Luca Wiedenmann regained his status as Mr. Clincher. After leading 5-2 in the third set and falling in three consecutive games, Wiedenmann held steady on his serve and effortlessly broke Texas' Chih Chi Huang to claim his 18th straight singles win and a 4-2 victory for the Vols.
LUCA'S CLUTCH GENE IS NO MYSTERY
Sunday's victory marked the 19th match point clinch of Luca Wiedenmann's career. The Munich, Germany native has won 60 dual singles matches in his career, meaning nearly a third of his wins, result in the clinching point for the Vols. He's already done so three times this season through 11 dual matches.
DOUBLES CONTINUES TO PROVE PIVOTAL
The Vols' win on Sunday was the 28th consecutive win for the Orange & White when claiming the doubles point. It's a streak that dates to March 31, 2019.
UP NEXT
The 10th-ranked Vols return to action on Wednesday afternoon for a home matinee matchup with Charlotte. First serve from Barksdale stadium is slated for 2:30 p.m. ET.
RESULTS
Doubles
Singles
The win marked UT's (10-1) first victory over Texas (8-3) since 2010, in a series dating to 1974.
"This week was a wonderful opportunity for our team to improve," head coach Chris Woodruff said. "We didn't look at this event as any bigger moment than another. It's like the great coach John Madden said, 'Is there ever not a big game?' We have a great group of people both on and off the court that make success possible and I certainly appreciate all they do."
UT opened things up with a dominant performance in doubles action. The tandems of junior Martim Prata and freshman Johannus Monday and senior Adam Walton and junior Pat Harper, rolled to 6-2 victories to give the Vols the early 1-0 advantage.
In singles play, UT grabbed the opening set on all six courts, before Texas fought back to force four third sets.
Senior Andrew Rogers earned his first singles win of the dual season with a straight-set triumph on court six to double the UT advantage. The Brentwood, Tennessee native knocked off Evin McDonald, 7-6(4), 6-3.
Minutes later, Monday clinched his own match in straight-sets. After battling to win an opening set tiebreak, Monday reeled off wins in four straight games in the second to earn his ninth victory of the dual season and put Tennessee up, 3-0.
Losses from graduate student Giles Hussey on court four and Prata at No. 3 brought Texas back within striking distance with two matches still on court.
At No. 5, graduate student Luca Wiedenmann regained his status as Mr. Clincher. After leading 5-2 in the third set and falling in three consecutive games, Wiedenmann held steady on his serve and effortlessly broke Texas' Chih Chi Huang to claim his 18th straight singles win and a 4-2 victory for the Vols.
LUCA'S CLUTCH GENE IS NO MYSTERY
Sunday's victory marked the 19th match point clinch of Luca Wiedenmann's career. The Munich, Germany native has won 60 dual singles matches in his career, meaning nearly a third of his wins, result in the clinching point for the Vols. He's already done so three times this season through 11 dual matches.
DOUBLES CONTINUES TO PROVE PIVOTAL
The Vols' win on Sunday was the 28th consecutive win for the Orange & White when claiming the doubles point. It's a streak that dates to March 31, 2019.
UP NEXT
The 10th-ranked Vols return to action on Wednesday afternoon for a home matinee matchup with Charlotte. First serve from Barksdale stadium is slated for 2:30 p.m. ET.
RESULTS
Doubles
- Walton/Harper (Tenn.) def. Woldeab/Spizzirri (Tex.) 6-2
- Monday/Prata (Tenn.) def. Holden/Huang (Tex.) 6-2
- Hussey/Walner (Tenn.) vs. Braswell/Harper (Tenn.) 4-4
Singles
- #24 Adam Walton (Tenn.) vs. #57 Siem Woldeab (Tex.) 6-4, 5-7, 1-3
- Johannus Monday (Tenn.) def. #120 Eliot Spizzirri (Tex.) 7-6(4), 6-4
- #78 Micah Braswell (Tex.) def. Martim Prata (Tenn.) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
- Cleeve Harper (Tex.) def. Giles Hussey (Tenn.) 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
- Luca Wiedenmann (Tenn.) def. Chih Chi Huang (Tex.) 6-1, 2-6, 7-5
- Andrew Rogers (Tenn.) def. Evin McDonald (Tex.) 7-6(4), 6-3
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1
#1 Singles Match
1234
6510
Siem Woldeab / 0 (57/-) [TEXAS]
473UF
#2 Singles Match
12
76
Eliot Spizzirri / 0 (120/-) [TEXAS]
64
#3 Singles Match
123
632
Micah Braswell / 0 (78/-) [TEXAS]
466
#4 Singles Match
123
633
Cleeve Harper / 0 [TEXAS]
266
#5 Singles Match
123
627
Chih Chi Huang / 0 [TEXAS]
165
#6 Singles Match
12
76
Evin McDonald / 0 [TEXAS]
63
Order of Finish:
6,2,4,3,5
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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