Men’s Tennis Central: ITA National Indoor Championship

CHICAGO – The 11th-ranked Tennessee men's tennis team travels north to Chicago for the annual ITA National Indoor Championship this week, beginning Friday and running Feb. 17-20.

Live stats for the weekend can be found here, while live streaming of the action can be viewed here. A Tournament Pass, which covers all four days of play, can be purchased for $60, while individual day passes are $25 per person. Tickets can be purchased here.

Tennessee (7-4), the No. 12 seed in the event, defeated 13th-seeded Stanford Saturday, 4-3 behind Angel Diaz's clinch on court five. The Vols face Illinois Sunday in a final match in Chicago. First serve is set for 7:30 p.m. ET at the XS Tennis Village.

Tennessee clinched its trip to the ITA Indoor Championship for a third consecutive season on Jan. 28, behind Johannus Monday's court-one clinch in the Vols' 4-3 win over Oklahoma at the ITA Kickoff Weekend. Monday was down a break in the third set, before roaring back to win the third-set tiebreak.

CONSOLATION #2: Tennessee (12) vs. Illinois (16)
Tennessee picked up its first ranked win of the season Saturday by defeating 17th-ranked Stanford, 4-3. The Vols close out play in Chicago Sunday with a second consolation match against Illinois. This week, prior to the ITA Indoor Championships, Illinois defeated 13th-ranked Georgia, 4-2 at the XS Tennis Village. Once play began in the main draw of the Indoor Championship, The Illini fell to top-ranked Ohio State, 4-0, before taking down No. 9 Wake Forest in a consolation match Saturday, 4-1. Tennessee last played Illinois in 2013, a 4-0 UT win. The Vols lead the all-time series 11-4, dating to 1966.

FIGHTING ILLINI IN THE RANKINGS
Singles
#123 – Hunter Heck

CONSOLATION #1: Tennessee (12) vs. Stanford (13)
After narrowly dropping its match to No. 5 Virginia Friday, 4-3, Tennessee looks to bounce back against 17th-ranked Stanford Saturday in a consolation match in Chicago. Stanford holds a 5-1 all-time edge on the Vols, with Tennessee's lone win in the series coming in 2001, 4-2 in the NCAA quarterfinals. Three of the six all-time matchups between the schools have come in the NCAA Tournament, including Stanford's 5-2 win over UT in the 1990 NCAA Championship match. The Cardinal are 6-3 on the year, falling to Michigan on Friday, 5-2.

STANFORD IN THE RANKINGS
Singles
#2 – Nishesh Basavareddy
#4 – Max Basing
#43 – Arthur Fery
#74 – Aryan Chaudhary

FIRST ROUND: Tennessee (12) vs. Virginia (5)
Tennessee and Virginia face off for the 14th time ever Friday, with the Cavaliers holding a slight 7-6 advantage in the all-time series, dating to 1969. The teams last met in the 2022 NCAA national semifinals, with Virginia taking a 5-0 decision. Virginia went on to win the 2022 NCAA National Championship. Virginia took down then-11th-ranked Baylor, 4-0 at home on Jan. 22, before drooping a pair of top-five home matches after the ITA Kickoff Weekend. No. 5 Kentucky overcame the Cavaliers, 4-3, while No. 1 Ohio State won 4-1 in Charlottesville, Virginia.

CAVALIERS IN THE RANKINGS
Singles
#29 – Chris Rodesch
#30 – Jeffrey von der Schulenburg
#70 – Inaki Montes de la Torre

Doubles
#20 – Ryan Goetz/Chris Rodesch
#42 – Bar Botzer/Chris Rodesch

JUNIOR JOHANNUS MONDAY ON NATIONAL INDOORS …
"It's an important weekend because our first team goal is on the line. Our main priority for this weekend is to have four solid, complete dual matches. In regards to playing Virginia, I think it will be a good match. We have an opportunity to avenge our loss to them last year in the Final Four. It will be a good battle between two top programs. I look forward to competing against them and hopefully we can come out on top."

VOLS IN THE RANKINGS
Singles
#18 – Johannus Monday
#56 – Shunsuke Mitsui
#79 – Blaise Bicknell
#116 – Emile Hudd

Doubles
#7 – Pat Harper/Johannus Monday
#34 – Emile Hudd/Shunsuke Mitsui

LAST YEAR AT ITA INDOORS
• Last year at the ITA National Indoor Championship in Seattle, Tennessee reached the championship match while picking up a trio of top-13 wins over Texas A&M, South Carolina and Baylor, en route to its runner-up finish.

RANKED VOLS
• With the ITA's Feb. 8 update of its singles and doubles rankings, its first update of the 2023 dual season, Tennessee has had either a top-10 singles player or a top-10 doubles acclaim in 17 consecutive dual-season ranking sets, dating to March 24, 2021.

THE CHASE IS ON
• Graduate student Pat Harper, with 83 career overall doubles wins at Tennessee, is 12 wins away from cracking the top-10 for most doubles victories in program history. Should he reach 100 career doubles wins by season's end, he will become just the ninth Vol to ever do so.

JO MOMENTUM
• Johannus Monday is a combined 12-1 in dual singles and doubles matches this spring. At 7-0 on the doubles courts, the four most recent of those wins came at the No. 1 spot with Pat Harper. Four of his five singles wins are at the top two lineup spots.

QUICK HITTERS
• Tennessee holds a 15-5 (.750) record in collective dual doubles matches this spring.
• The Vols are 6-1 this year when earning a point on court six of singles.
• UT is 6-1 when winning the doubles point this season.

TOURNAMENT SEEDING
1. Ohio State
2. Kentucky
3. TCU
4. Michigan
5. Virginia
6. South Carolina
7. USC
8. Texas
9. Wake Forest
10. North Carolina
11. Georgia
12. Tennessee
13. Stanford
14. Baylor
15. Florida
16. Illinois

CHICAGO FACTS
• The Bean, officially referred to as "Cloud Gate," was unveiled in Chicago's Millennium Park in 2004. At 33 feet high, 42 feet wide, and 66 feet long, it weighs approximately 110 tons and is made of 168 stainless steel plates, which were fitted together and welded shut for a seamless finish.
• The Chicago River is the only river in America that flows backwards, in an effort to avoid water pollution.
• The blue in Lake Michigan and is sediment brought to the surface when strong winds churn the lakes.
• The world's first brownie was made in Chicago's Palmer House Hotel in 1893.
• With a 2023 population of 2,761,625, Chicago is the third-largest city in the United States.

UP NEXT
Following the ITA National Indoor Championship, Tennessee closes out nonconference play with a home doubleheader against The Citadel on Saturday, Feb. 25.

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

Men’s Tennis Central: ITA National Indoor Championship

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Players Mentioned

Blaise Bicknell

Angel Diaz

Pat Harper

Emile Hudd

Shunsuke Mitsui

Johannus Monday

University of Tennessee Athletics