Men’s Tennis Central: ITA Kickoff Weekend

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 1 Tennessee men's tennis team is geared up for the ITA Kickoff Weekend, as Knoxville serves as one of 15 host sites on the men's side of the bracket.

Tennessee will face Old Dominion Friday at 1 p.m. ET. The winner of Friday afternoon's match will meet the winner of Friday morning's match, between Memphis and Western Michigan, in Saturday's Kickoff Weekend championship match, which is set for 1 p.m. ET. Tennessee is 17-7 all-time at the ITA Kickoff Weekend since the event's inception in 2009, advancing to the national indoors field six consecutive times from 2009-2014 and last doing so a year ago in 2021.

Live stats for the weekend will be provided by UTsports.com and can be found here. Live streaming is available for free through Playsight and can be found here.

Admission is free and free tennis parking for spectators is located in SC40 at the Kingston Pike Building. Additional parking information can be found here.

LAST TIME OUT
Tennessee toppled tenth-ranked Wake Forest Tuesday, with senior Emile Hudd clinching match point in a 4-3 Big Orange victory. The win was UT's second top-10 triumph of the 2022 dual season, with the first coming on the road over then-fifth-ranked TCU.

SCOUTING OLD DOMINION
Friday marks the first-ever meeting between the Vols and Monarchs. A Tennessee victory would advance the Big Orange to the Kickoff Weekend's championship match against the winner of Friday's Memphis vs. Western Michigan match. Through two matches this dual season, Old Dominion holds a 1-1 record, defeating Penn State in a home season-opener Jan. 16, 5-2, before dropping a road tilt, 6-1 at Auburn Wednesday.

SCOUTING MEMPHIS
Memphis makes the eastern trek across the Volunteer State with a 2-0 record to start its dual slate, following a 7-0 win over Jackson State and a 4-2 decision on the road over Northwestern. The potential matchup Saturday would be the 12^th in a series that dates to 1964. The two programs last met in 2021, a 4-0 UT sweep. A meeting Saturday would be just the third between the Tigers and Vols since 2012.

SCOUTING WESTERN MICHIGAN
The Broncos of Western Michigan arrive in Knoxville with a 2-1 record, with a pair of 6-1 victories over Butler and Ferris State, before falling at then-17^th-ranked Michigan, 6-1 on Jan 21. With only four matches having been played between the two schools all-time, the Vols are 3-1 against the Broncos, with each of those four matches taking place between 1951-54.

STAYING AT THE TOP
With Wednesday's updated ITA rankings, the Vols held their position atop the ITA Top-25 Coaches Poll, receiving all 12 first-place votes in the January 26 edition of the poll. It marks the first time since March 2011 in which UT has been ranked inside the top two in consecutive weeks. Tennessee is one of eight SEC teams currently ranked inside the top 25.

BACK-TO-BACK OPPORTUNITY
Should the top-ranked Vols win two matches this weekend, they would claim a spot at the ITA National Indoor Championships for the second consecutive season and just the second time since 2014. The Indoor Championships are scheduled for Feb. 18-21 in Seattle, Wash.

UP NEXT
Next up for the Vols is a road trip north to Columbus, Ohio, to face the fifth-ranked Buckeyes of Ohio State on Friday, Feb. 4. First serve is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET from the Ty Tucker Tennis Center.

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Players Mentioned

Emile Hudd

University of Tennessee Athletics