#4 Vols Dominate Doubles, Trounce LSU 4-1 on the Road

Sunday, March 27

Baton Rouge, LA

1 PM

University of Tennessee

LSU

Photo by: Preston Jones/Tennessee Athletics

March 27, 2022 | Men's Tennis

Box Score Box Score

BATON ROUGE, La. – Under sunny south Louisiana skies Sunday afternoon, the No. 4 Tennessee men's tennis team set the tone early with dominant doubles play in a 4-1 victory over LSU.

The win gave Tennessee its fifth consecutive win over LSU.

"I thought this weekend was really productive for everyone," Tennessee head coach Chris Woodruff said. "I thought we learned a lot about ourselves. We learned a lot about overcoming adversity and what it's going to take to be successful as we get deeper and deeper into the season, with the ultimate goal being success in the postseason.

"I'd like to see us continue to get as healthy as we possibly can. We stuck together this weekend. We were down and out for all practical purposes against Texas A&M and really stuck in there together. I told the guys that during the season there are a lot of opportunities to quit and go away and there are also a lot of opportunities to turn your year around. Given where we are, I'm hoping we can use this weekend against Texas A&M and LSU to really get us going in a positive direction."

The match clinch for Tennessee (16-5, 4-3 SEC) came from senior Emile Hudd, who now owns a team-high five clinches this season. Hudd, ranked as the nation's No. 40 singles player, toppled Vlad Lobak of LSU, 6-4, 7-6(1) at the No. 2 singles slot. Down 1-3 in the first set, Hudd broke Lobak and then held serve to tie the set at 3 apiece. He won five of the final six games in set one to win 6-4. In the second set, Hudd's break to go up 6-5 was answered by Lobak, who broke back and sent it to a second-set tiebreak. Hudd speedily won the tiebreak 7-1, propelling the Vols to victory.

"Emile has been really good for us," Woodruff said. "I'm proud of him. He's been a wonderful addition in singles and doubles. He's done everything we've asked. We've been pretty tough on him and he has embraced trying to make some changes.

"He's just been a welcome addition to the Tennessee family. He's got some experience as well. He played in the NCAAs last year and has played in some big matches. He's really come through for us this year. We couldn't be happier for him because he's another one, like Martim, who is a model of consistency."

To begin the match, the Vols took the doubles point in just under 30 minutes, with wins on courts two and one. Tennessee's 20^th-ranked doubles pairing of Emile Hudd and Shunsuke Mitsui defeated LSU's Gabriel Diaz Freire and Kent Hunter, 6-1 on court two to open proceedings. The duo raced to a 2-0 advantage with a break in the second game and never looked back in a 6-1 victory.

Then, the 72^nd-ranked Aussie duo of Adam Walton and Pat Harper defeated LSU's Ronald Hohmann/Vlad Lobak on court one. The UT pair won on deuce point in the second game to go up 2-0 early. The LSU duo earned a break in game three but Walton and Harper maintained control late to earn the doubles clinch for the Big Orange.

In singles, Tennessee took five first sets en route to a 4-1 win, with each of Tennessee's three singles triumphs over the Tigers (12-6, 3-4 SEC) coming in straight sets. In about an hour's time, #21 Walton trounced 23^rd-ranked Ronald Hohmann in straights, 6-1, 6-1 on court one. Once Walton went up a set, he earned breaks in the first and third games of the second set as he collected his second top-25 singles win of the season. Both of those wins have come in SEC play.

"Adam has been a pretty steady performer for us for a long time," Woodruff said. "Those of us who know him and see him on a day-to-day basis, he didn't really hit his stride until midway through SEC play last year. Based on what he's doing now, I think he's trending in the right direction.

"He played rock-solid under pressure in College Station and then today, he was just really steady. He has a really good attitude and a really good mind to play tennis. Nothing is really ever out of sorts for him. He has a lot of experience in big moments, so I expect him to be ready and fully prepared down the stretch."

On court five, senior Martim Prata overpowered the Tigers' Joao Graca, 6-2, 6-1. After going up a set, Prata broke Graca in the first game of set two and never looked back. This gave the Vols a 3-0 lead.

"Martim is a great example of a guy who is always going to work hard," Woodruff said. "He's hit some rough spots along the way, but we've talked to him about getting back to his roots. He's been a solid performer for us and he always shows up. He loves tennis and works hard. He has a lot of regular season experience and postseason experience, so he knows what's coming. It was good to see him play well today."

The Tigers earned their lone point on court four, as Angel Diaz dropped his match to Gabriel Diaz Freire 2-6, 4-6.

Freshmen Mitsui and Conor Gannon saw their singles matches go unfinished, on courts three and six, respectively. Mitsui, down 0-4 in the opening set, won the next four games to tie it at 4-all and went on to take the first set, 7-5. He earned a big break to take a 3-1 second-set lead, before going unfinished at 7-6(2), 4-3, after Hudd's clinch.

STARTING A NEW STREAK
Tennessee's 2-0 weekend on the road at Texas A&M, 4-3 on Friday and LSU, 4-0 Sunday, puts the Vols back above the .500 mark (4-3) in SEC action and preserves Tennessee's unblemished road SEC record this dual season, which is now 4-0.

TALKIN' DUBS DUBS
With Sunday's win, Tennessee improved to 12-1 when claiming the doubles point this dual season. The doubles win on court one for Walton and Harper Sunday, brings Walton to 93 career doubles wins. The Aussie now stands seven doubles victories away from 100. Reaching this feat would make him just the sixth Vol in program history to accrue 100 career doubles and 100 career singles wins.

UP NEXT
Tennessee returns to Knoxville in preparation for a Friday match at Barksdale Stadium this week against the Arkansas Razorbacks. First serve is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET.

RESULTS
Doubles

1. #72 Adam Walton/Pat Harper (UT) def. Ronald Hohmann/Vlad Lobak (LSU) 6-3
2. #20 Emile Hudd/Shunsuke Mitsui (UT) def. Gabriel Diaz Freire/Kent Hunter (LSU) 6-1
3. Martim Prata/Angel Diaz (UT) vs. Boris Kozlov/Nick Watson (LSU) 5-2, unfinished

Order of Finish: (2,1)

Singles

1. #21 Adam Walton (UT) def. #23 Ronald Hohmann (LSU) 6-1, 6-1
2. #40 Emile Hudd (UT) def. Vlad Lobak (LSU) 6-4, 7-6 (7-1)
3. Shunsuke Mitsui (UT) vs. Kent Hunter (LSU) 7-6(2), 4-3, unfinished
4. Gabriel Diaz Freire (LSU) def. Angel Diaz (UT) 6-2, 6-4
5. Martim Prata (UT) def. Joao Graca (LSU) 6-2, 6-1
6. Conor Gannon (UT) vs. Boris Kozlov (LSU) 7-5, 2-5, unfinished

Order of Finish: (1,5,4,2)