Men’s Tennis Central: #6 Tennessee at #5 Michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The sixth-ranked Tennessee men's tennis team is geared up for a top-10 clash against No. 5 Michigan Thursday, Jan. 19 at 5 p.m. ET inside the Varsity Tennis Center.

Tennessee enters the match having won 13 of its previous 15 matches, dating to last dual season. The Vols have won all but one singles match this season, outscoring opponents 24-1 through four contests. Thursday serves as Tennessee's first time in program history playing Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Live stats and a live stream of Thursday's match can be found here.

LAST TIME OUT
Tennessee swept Tennessee Tech twice, 7-0 and 4-0, in a Saturday, Jan. 14 doubleheader.

SCOUTING MICHIGAN
The Vols (4-0) and Wolverines (1-0) meet for the 14th time Thursday, with the most recent meeting coming in 1996. From 1979-93, Tennessee won 10 consecutive matches against Michigan and hold a 10-3 advantage over the Wolverines in the series, which dates to 1975. A win for Tennessee Thursday would be its fifth top-10 win since the start of the 2022 dual season.

Michigan opened the season Sunday with a 7-0 win over Boston University. Last season, the Wolverines advanced to the NCAA national quarterfinals, finishing the season with a 25-4 overall record and a Big Ten Tournament Championship. Ondrej Styler logged a 14-2 record at No. 1 singles for Michigan during the 2022 dual season.

VOLS IN THE RANKINGS
Singles
#59 – Shunsuke Mitsui
#81 – Emile Hudd
#86 – Blaise Bicknell

Doubles
#25 – Emile Hudd/Shunsuke Mitsui

WOLVERINES IN THE RANKINGS
Singles
#6 – Andrew Fenty
#16 – Ondrej Styler
#20 – Gavin Young
#58 – Bjorn Swenson

Doubles
#14 – Andrew Fenty/Gavin Young
#47 – Jacob Bickersteth/Gavin Young

MILESTONES
• Emile Hudd stands at 75 career overall singles wins. After a pair of default wins at No. 3 doubles against Tennessee Tech, Hudd owns 50 career dual doubles victories.
• Boris Kozlov earned his 75th career overall singles win Saturday.
• Shunsuke Mitsui attained his 40th career overall doubles win this past weekend.
• Johannus Monday's wins Saturday over Tennessee Tech vaulted the junior to a pair of milestones: 60 career overall singles wins and 40 career dual doubles triumphs.
• Martim Prata nabbed career overall singles win No. 70 Saturday.

TOP-10 SUCCESS
Under Chris Woodruff, Tennessee has racked up 10 top-10 wins since 2019, including seven top-five triumphs. Three of those top-10 wins came on the road and four came in 2022. The last time Tennessee defeated a top-five team on the road was at fifth-ranked TCU in 2022.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
During Woodruff's tenure as Tennessee's head coach, the Vols boast a 27-11 (.711) mark in true road matches.

QUICK HITTERS
• Tennessee's last win over a Big Ten team was a 4-1 win over Michigan State in 2014 at the ITA Kickoff Weekend.
• Thursday marks Tennessee's first-ever match against Michigan in Ann Arbor, as each of the series' previous 13 chapters were played in Knoxville or at a neutral site.

ANN ARBOR FACTS
• The city is nicknamed "Tree Town" as a result of the dense forestation of its parks and residential areas. An approximate 1.5 million trees comprise "Tree Town."

• Not meant for public use, there is an extensive six-mile underground steam tunnel system in Ann Arbor.

• With a 2023 population of 126,827, Ann Arbor is the fifth largest city in Michigan.

UP NEXT
Tennessee remains on the road for a top-15 battle at No. 14 Wake Forest Sunday, Jan. 22. First serve is set for 1:30 p.m. ET.

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

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Players Mentioned

Blaise Bicknell

Emile Hudd

Boris Kozlov

Shunsuke Mitsui

Johannus Monday

Martim Prata

University of Tennessee Athletics