Men’s Tennis Central: #6 Tennessee vs. Texas Tech

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Following the sixth-ranked Tennessee men's tennis team's season-opening victory over Charlotte Sunday, the Vols play host to Texas Tech Monday at 4 p.m. ET in the second leg of a back-to-back.

Live stats will be provided by UTsports.com and can be found here. Admission is free and complimentary tennis parking is located in SC40 at the Kingston Pike Building. Additional parking information can be found here.

LAST TIME OUT
Tennessee used five straight-set singles victories to fuel a 6-1 win over Charlotte Sunday afternoon and move to 1-0 on the year.

SCOUTING TEXAS TECH
The season-opening back-to-back for the Vols concludes with a bout with Texas Tech in Knoxville at 4 p.m. ET Monday afternoon. Tennessee has won each of the five matches against Texas Tech in the series history, with the first meeting coming in 1975. UT won the last meeting, 4-2 in 2019. The Vols are 6-2 against current members of the Big 12 over the past two dual seasons.

The Red Raiders finished the 2022 season with a 14-12 record and a first-round exit in the NCAA Tournament. Texas Tech's No. 1 singles player in 2022, Isaac Arevalo, returns for his fifth season of eligibility in 2023. Arevalo was 8-11 at the No. 1 dual singles spot a year ago, while also posting a 7-13 mark at the top of the doubles lineup.

Texas Tech is currently led by Interim Head Coach Michael Breler.

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

Doubles
#25 – Emile Hudd/Shunsuke Mitsui

The ITA's individual rankings next update on Feb. 8.

QUICK HITTERS
• Tennessee's win over Charlotte was its 24^th season-opening victory in the past 25 seasons.
• Four of Tennessee's five singles wins Sunday came from individuals whom either had not played a dual match at Tennessee prior to Sunday or for returning players, came at a position in which they had not won at previously. Bicknell, at No. 3 singles, and Kozlov at the No. 5 slot earned their first dual singles wins as Vols. Mitsui, at No. 1 singles, and Diaz at No. 6 had not played at those respective positions prior to Sunday. It also marked Bicknell's first career singles match at No. 3.

EXPERIENCED DEPTH
Seven of Tennessee's nine roster spots are filled by either a graduate student or a senior, with five being graduate students along with a pair of seniors. Pat Harper, Emile Hudd and Martim Prata serve as the trio of Vols who return for their fifth season of eligibility, while incoming graduate transfers Boris Kozlov and Tomas Rodriguez each arrive on Rocky Top for their fifth collegiate season. Seniors Blaise Bicknell and Angel Diaz round out this list. Junior Johannus Monday and sophomore Shunsuke Mitsui are the lone exceptions in terms of being at least a fourth-year student-athlete.

LIVING IN THE RANKINGS
When the ITA ranked Tennessee as the No. 6 team in the nation ahead of the 2023 dual season Wednesday, it marked the 33rd consecutive ITA poll in which the Vols secured a top-10 designation. That's tied with TCU for the longest active streak in the nation.

FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD
Tennessee has eight countries— Jamaica, Ecuador, Australia, England, U.S., Japan, Portugal and Argentina—represented on its nine-man squad in 2023.

AUSSIE U
Graduate student Pat Harper, hailing from Brisbane, Australia, returns for his fifth and final year of eligibility on Rocky Top in 2023. The return of the 2021 NCAA Doubles National Champion marks the 36th consecutive year in which Tennessee has had an Aussie on its roster.

WOODRUFF AT THE HELM
Head coach Chris Woodruff enters his sixth season at the helm at his alma mater and his 21st year on staff at Tennessee. Woodruff has led the Vols to a 111-31 (.782) record over the past five seasons, surpassing the 100-win mark as a coach in 2022. Through five seasons, Woodruff's Vols are without a double-digit loss campaign and have reached consecutive NCAA semifinals for the first time since UT's three-year run to the semifinals or better in 2000-02.

UP NEXT
Tennessee hits the courts once again Saturday, Jan. 14 for a home double-header against Tennessee Tech. The morning match begins at 10 a.m. ET, followed by the succeeding 2 p.m. match.

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

Angel Diaz

Pat Harper

Emile Hudd

Boris Kozlov

Shunsuke Mitsui

Johannus Monday

Martim Prata

Tomas Rodriguez

University of Tennessee Athletics