#4 Vols Win Thrilling Top-Five Clash, Defeat #5 TCU 4-3

Sunday, January 16

Fort Worth, TX

1 PM

University of Tennessee

TCU

KNOXVILLE, TN - 2022.01.12 - Tennessee vs. ETSU

#4 Vols Win Thrilling Top-Five Clash, Defeat #5 TCU 4-3

January 16, 2022 | Men's Tennis

Box Score Box Score

FORT WORTH, Texas – The fourth-ranked Tennessee men's team was victorious on the road Sunday, winning an electric match in thrilling fashion, 4-3 over No. 5 TCU.

Junior and newcomer Angel Diaz clinched the exhilarating match for Tennessee (3-0), defeating TCU's #33 Lui Maxted in a three-set battle, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3. On court one, graduate student Adam Walton had a key comeback victory that was crucial in the Vols' eventual victory over the Horned Frogs (2-1).

"I think more importantly than the win, what this does is it kind of shows us what we have to work on," Tennessee head coach Chris Woodruff said. "It's nice to pick up a good win, especially after they beat Florida on Friday, but most importantly for us, it will show us what we need to work on. Also, Angel stepped up. We've had a lot of guys step up so early in the season."

Diaz, down 2-4 in the second set after Maxted took the opening set, battled back for a 6-4 set two win. Then, in the third set, Diaz held serve in the first game, before getting a key break in game two. After holding serve once again, he held a 3-0 advantage, up a break. At that point, he had won seven consecutive games. Maxted went on to make it 3-1 by holding serve. Diaz and Maxted continued holding serve for the remainder of the third set, as Diaz cued Rocky Top by clinching the top-five triumph.

"First of all, I believe in all of our players," Woodruff said. "They all help in one way or another. I know how good Angel can be. He got off to a little bit of a slow start and then he started playing to his capabilities. Am I surprised? No, not really. He had a wonderful opportunity and he took advantage of it. He gave great effort today."

To start the day, the Vols dropped the doubles point for just the seventh time since the start of last season. Pat Harper and Adam Walton were defeated by Luc Fomba and Jake Fearnley, 3-6. The TCU doubles clinch came on court 2, as Sander Jong and Lui Maxted won the tiebreak over Emile Hudd and Shunsuke Mitsui, 7-6, just the second defeat (13-2) for the UT pair this season.

In singles action, sophomore #10 Johannus Monday tied the match at 1-1, defeating TCU's 19th-ranked Juan Carlos Aguilar in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4. Monday was able to get to his crushing forehand, which played a significant role in wearing down Aguilar.

Playing at the No. 4 singles position, freshman Shunsuke Mitsui's speed and agility were on full display Sunday, as he took down Tomas Jirousek of TCU in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. Mitsui got a break on the first game of set one, which set the tone for the remainder of the match.

"Shun was obviously a really good recruit," Woodruff said. "He'll continue to grow. I was proud of the way he competed. He's very good at getting everybody involved. He plays with a lot of spirit and a lot of passion. Like I said earlier, everybody will continue to get better. More importantly than the win, I think it shows us what we need to work on going forward."

After a dominant, 6-2 first set win by #51 Hudd over TCU's Sander Jong, Jong took sets two and three on court three of singles, 6-3, 6-2 to tie the match at 2-2.

Fourth to finish in singles was 39th-ranked Walton. The Aussie dropped the opening set to #68 Luc Fomba, 3-6, before roaring back to win sets two and three, 6-2, 6-4. Walton's comeback began when he got out to a 3-0 advantage over Fomba in the second set. Later, in the third set while leading 5-4 and serving, Walton was unfazed down 0-30, tying the game at 30-all before eventually winning the deuce and match point to take set three 6-4 an make the score 3-2 in favor of the Vols.

Due to space limitations within TCU's facility, Diaz at the No. 5 singles slot and Conor Gannon at No. 6 began their singles matches following Monday and Mitsui's singles wins, respectively.

Prior to the clinch by Diaz, Gannon was down a break, 1-3 in the first set. Still, he clawed back to take a 4-3 lead in the opening set, before claiming set one, 6-4. The Horned Frogs' #76 Fearnley went on to take sets two and three, 7-5, 6-2, tying the match at three apiece shortly before Diaz's clinch.

DIAZ CLINCHES
With 'Mr. Clincher' and VFL Luca Wiedenmann in attendance for the Fort Worth showdown, Diaz earned the first clinch of his young Tennessee career. The Vols now have had a newcomer clinch in each of their first three matches this season, with Gannon doing so twice in Wednesday's doubleheader against ETSU.

CLUTCH WIN FOR WALTSY
Claiming career singles win No. 103 in Sunday's top-five clash was Walton, who now has defeated 28 ranked opponents in his legendary Tennessee career.

UP NEXT
The Vols have a week off, before returning to action with a second home doubleheader of the season as they face tenth-ranked Wake Forest and the Golden Eagles of Tennessee Tech Sunday, Jan. 23 at Noon and 4 p.m. ET, respectively.

RESULTS
Doubles
1. Luc Fomba/Jake Fearnley (TCU) def. Pat Harper/Adam Walton (UT) 6-3
2. Sander Jong/Lui Maxted (TCU) def. #6 Emile Hudd/Shunsuke Mitsui (UT) 7-6 (7-1)
3. Juan Carlos Aguilar/Tomas Jirousek (TCU) vs. Mark Wallner/Johannus Monday (UT) 6-5, unfinished

Order of Finish: 1,2

Singles
1. #39 Adam Walton (UT) def. #68 Luc Fomba (TCU) 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
2. #10 Johannus Monday (UT) def. #19 Juan Carlos Aguilar (TCU) 6-2, 6-4
3. Sander Jong (TCU) def. #51 Emile Hudd (UT) 2-6, 6-3, 6-2
4. #125 Shunsuke Mitsui (UT) def. Tomas Jirousek (TCU) 6-4, 6-4
5. Angel Diaz (UT) def. #33 Lui Maxted (TCU) 5-7, 6-4, 6-3
6. #76 Jake Fearnley (TCU) def. #123 Conor Gannon (UT) 4-6, 7-5, 6-2

Order of Finish: 2,4,3,1,6,5