Men’s Tennis Central: #5 Tennessee vs. Alabama

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – With two regular season matches remaining, the No. 5 Tennessee men's tennis team is geared up for a home matchup with Alabama Friday. First serve is slated for 4 p.m. ET.

Friday will be Tennessee's 'Bark at Barksdale' match. Fans are encouraged to have their dogs accompany them during the match, but the canines must be leashed.

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

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

For outdoor matches at Barksdale Stadium this season, concessions and alcoholic beverages will be sold on the concourse, at the top of the grandstand behind court two. Concessions will only be sold during outdoor matches at Barksdale Stadium and not at matches that are moved indoors to Goodfriend Tennis Center.

More information on Tennessee's enhanced fan experience efforts can be found here.

LAST TIME OUT
The Vols overcame in-state rival Vanderbilt, 4-3 Sunday in Nashville as freshman Shunsuke Mitsui executed a comeback to claim match point for the Big Orange.

SCOUTING ALABAMA
Friday marks the 65^th all-time meeting between the Vols and Tide, with Tennessee owning a controlling 48-16 lead in the series, dating to 1930. Tennessee (18-6, 6-4 SEC) is 24-3 over Alabama (8-18, 0-10 SEC) since the turn of the century and has taken 10 of the previous 11 matchups with the Tide. Winless in conference action, Alabama has defeated just one power-5 opponent this season (Nebraska on Feb. 26). Still, in its last five matches, the Tide has dropped three of those in 5-2 fashion and one 4-3 decision.

VOLS IN THE RANKINGS
Singles
#8 – Johannus Monday
#12 – Adam Walton
#75 – Emile Hudd

Doubles
#32 – Emile Hudd/Shunsuke Mitsui
#43 - Pat Harper/Adam Walton

TIDE IN THE RANKINGS
Singles
#36 – Filip Planinsek

Doubles
#52 – Filip Planinsek/German Samofalov

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
Since the ITA made its annual transition to computer rankings on Feb. 23, Friday marks just the second match for Tennessee against an opponent outside of the top 75. The other such occurrence came when the Vols defeated Furman, 5-2 on March 1. Tennessee has eight wins over top-25 opponents this dual season and is 11-6 against top-25 foes, with five of those six defeats coming to top-10 competition.

CHASING HISTORY
In October, Walton earned his 100th career singles win to become the 11th-ever Vol to reach the century mark in career singles triumphs. After earning his 96th career doubles triumph Sunday at Vanderbilt, Walton now stands four 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.

STACKING UP WINS
The doubles pairing of Johannus Monday and Mark Wallner have been a reliable force at No. 3 doubles for the Vols this dual season. Holding a 9-0 dual match doubles record this season, the duo was named to the 2022 ITA Indoor Championship All-Tournament Team earlier in the year.

AUSSIE DUBS DUBS
The Aussie duo of Adam Walton and Pat Harper have been red hot on the doubles courts as of late. Of completed matches, the two have eight consecutive wins and have won 10 of their past 11 matches. The Aussies are 13-4 in dual doubles matches this season and are a perfect 7-0 in SEC play.

FABULOUS FRESHMAN
Freshman sensation Mitsui earned his second SEC Freshman of the Week honor of the season Wednesday. This season, Mitsui is 18-3 (8-1 SEC) in dual singles matches, including a 5-1 mark at the No. 4 position and is 28-7 overall in singles action. He has won nine of his previous 10 completed singles matches. In doubles, a 6-4 win with Emile Hudd Sunday at Vanderbilt puts him at 26-9 in doubles this season, dating back to fall action. He is 8-3 (3-1 SEC) at No. 2 doubles this dual season.

HUDD GETS DUBS
A winner in five of his past six singles matches, senior Emile Hudd has improved his season mark to 15-6 (7-3 SEC) in dual singles matches, including a 7-3 (2-1 SEC) record at the No. 3 slot. In doubles, Hudd is 8-3 (3-1 SEC) at the No. 2 position with Mitsui.

UP NEXT
Tennessee's Senior Day is Sunday, as it hosts Auburn at 1 p.m. ET. Presentations for Tennessee's Adam Walton and Mark Wallner will begin at 12:50 p.m. ET, so please allow ample time for parking and stadium entry.

For the most up-to-date information about the program, follow Tennessee men's tennis on Twitter and Instagram and like us on Facebook.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Pat Harper

Emile Hudd

Shunsuke Mitsui

Johannus Monday

Mark Wallner

Adam Walton

University of Tennessee Athletics