University of Tennessee Athletics
Friday, March 31
Knoxville, TN
4 PM
University of Tennessee
5
vs
2
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Mississippi State
Mitsui Clinches Again as #14 Vols Rout #12 Mississippi State, 5-2
March 31, 2023 | Men's Tennis
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – A strong start to both doubles and singles play helped the 14th-ranked Tennessee men's tennis team earn a 5-2 home win over No. 12 Mississippi State Friday.
Rain during singles action moved the outdoor match indoors to Goodfriend Tennis Center, but the Vols held momentum throughout the hour-long delay to pick up a ranked SEC win.
For the third consecutive match, the clinch came at the No. 4 singles spot from sophomore Shunsuke Mitsui, who is now 7-1 (6-1 SEC) at that position this dual season. After battling to take the tiebreaker in set one, Mitsui rolled in the second set for the 7-6(5), 6-1 decision over Mississippi State's Ewen Lumsden.
Early in the match, Tennessee (15-6, 5-2 SEC) continued its doubles dominance, earning its 19th doubles point in 21 matches this season.
UT's 60th-ranked pairing of Emile Hudd and Mitsui won 24-of-36 total points in a dominant, 6-0, win on court two over #74 Lumsden and Petar Jovanovic. The Tennessee duo was successful on three of its five break points in the impressive win.
The doubles clinch came on court one, as the nation's second-ranked doubles duo of Johannus Monday and Pat Harper defeated the 44th-ranked pairing of Nemanja Malesevic and Carles Hernandez, 6-4.
The Vols took five first sets over Mississippi State (16-5, 4-4 SEC) in singles, hanging on to momentum despite the weather delay.
Second-ranked Monday pummeled atop the singles lineup, capturing a ranked win over #123 Malesevic, 6-1, 6-1. Monday won 63 percent of the match's points, and posted an 82 percent first-serve percentage in the second set, dropping a mere two games in the victory to put the Vols up 2-0.
"It starts with one. People come out and they watch court number one," Tennessee head coach Chris Woodruff said. "History shows over the years that if your number one is getting off to a good start, winning and doing well for you, then most of the time you're in a pretty good spot."
Next to finish was Tennessee's Angel Diaz on court five, tallying a straight-set, 6-3, 6-4, win over Benito Sanchez Martinez. Diaz won 28-of-34 first-serve points during the match. The win improved his dual match singles record this spring to 14-3, with a 7-2 mark at the No. 5 slot. Mitsui's clinch put the Vols up 4-0 and the remaining three singles matches were played out.
"Shunsuke is playing solid," Woodruff said. "He's playing really solid. He's doing the things that actually are expected of him. Another guy who's doing well is Angel. Really, what I'm the most pleased with is their emotional maturity. It's improved from even four or five matches ago. To watch them grow, both playing singles and doubles, I'm really happy for them."
After the Bulldogs took court three, Hudd was fifth in the order of finish Friday, picking up a win on court two over Jovanovic, 6-1, 7-6 (9-7). Hudd won each of his break point opportunities in the opening set, before taking a hard-fought tiebreaker in the second set for UT's fifth point of the evening. Mississippi State took the match on court six for the second point of the day.
UP NEXT
Tennessee plays host to No. 4 Kentucky Sunday at Barksdale Stadium. First serve is set for 1 p.m. ET, with Senior Day presentations beginning at 12:25 p.m.
RESULTS: Tennessee 5, Mississippi State 2
Doubles
1. #2 Johannus Monday/Pat Harper (UT) def. #44 Nemanja Malesevic/Carles Hernandez (MSU) 6-4
2. #60 Emile Hudd/Shunsuke Mitsui (UT) def. #74 Ewen Lumsden/Petar Jovanovic (MSU) 6-0
3. Angel Diaz/Martim Prata (UT) vs. Gregor Ramskogler/B. Sanchez Martinez (MSU) 4-5, unfinished
Order of Finish: (2,1)
Singles
1. #2 Johannus Monday (UT) def. #123 Nemanja Malesevic (MSU) 6-1, 6-1
2. #57 Emile Hudd (UT) def. Petar Jovanovic (MSU) 6-1, 7-6 (9-7)
3. #108 Carles Hernandez (MSU) def. Blaise Bicknell (UT) 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (11-9)
4. #122 Shunsuke Mitsui (UT) def. Ewen Lumsden (MSU) 7-6 (7-5), 6-1
5. Angel Diaz (UT) def. B. Sanchez Martinez (MSU) 6-3, 6-4
6. Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) def. Tomas Rodriguez (UT) 7-6 (7-4), 6-3
Order of Finish: (1,5,4,3,2,6)
Rain during singles action moved the outdoor match indoors to Goodfriend Tennis Center, but the Vols held momentum throughout the hour-long delay to pick up a ranked SEC win.
For the third consecutive match, the clinch came at the No. 4 singles spot from sophomore Shunsuke Mitsui, who is now 7-1 (6-1 SEC) at that position this dual season. After battling to take the tiebreaker in set one, Mitsui rolled in the second set for the 7-6(5), 6-1 decision over Mississippi State's Ewen Lumsden.
Early in the match, Tennessee (15-6, 5-2 SEC) continued its doubles dominance, earning its 19th doubles point in 21 matches this season.
UT's 60th-ranked pairing of Emile Hudd and Mitsui won 24-of-36 total points in a dominant, 6-0, win on court two over #74 Lumsden and Petar Jovanovic. The Tennessee duo was successful on three of its five break points in the impressive win.
The doubles clinch came on court one, as the nation's second-ranked doubles duo of Johannus Monday and Pat Harper defeated the 44th-ranked pairing of Nemanja Malesevic and Carles Hernandez, 6-4.
The Vols took five first sets over Mississippi State (16-5, 4-4 SEC) in singles, hanging on to momentum despite the weather delay.
Second-ranked Monday pummeled atop the singles lineup, capturing a ranked win over #123 Malesevic, 6-1, 6-1. Monday won 63 percent of the match's points, and posted an 82 percent first-serve percentage in the second set, dropping a mere two games in the victory to put the Vols up 2-0.
"It starts with one. People come out and they watch court number one," Tennessee head coach Chris Woodruff said. "History shows over the years that if your number one is getting off to a good start, winning and doing well for you, then most of the time you're in a pretty good spot."
Next to finish was Tennessee's Angel Diaz on court five, tallying a straight-set, 6-3, 6-4, win over Benito Sanchez Martinez. Diaz won 28-of-34 first-serve points during the match. The win improved his dual match singles record this spring to 14-3, with a 7-2 mark at the No. 5 slot. Mitsui's clinch put the Vols up 4-0 and the remaining three singles matches were played out.
"Shunsuke is playing solid," Woodruff said. "He's playing really solid. He's doing the things that actually are expected of him. Another guy who's doing well is Angel. Really, what I'm the most pleased with is their emotional maturity. It's improved from even four or five matches ago. To watch them grow, both playing singles and doubles, I'm really happy for them."
After the Bulldogs took court three, Hudd was fifth in the order of finish Friday, picking up a win on court two over Jovanovic, 6-1, 7-6 (9-7). Hudd won each of his break point opportunities in the opening set, before taking a hard-fought tiebreaker in the second set for UT's fifth point of the evening. Mississippi State took the match on court six for the second point of the day.
UP NEXT
Tennessee plays host to No. 4 Kentucky Sunday at Barksdale Stadium. First serve is set for 1 p.m. ET, with Senior Day presentations beginning at 12:25 p.m.
RESULTS: Tennessee 5, Mississippi State 2
Doubles
1. #2 Johannus Monday/Pat Harper (UT) def. #44 Nemanja Malesevic/Carles Hernandez (MSU) 6-4
2. #60 Emile Hudd/Shunsuke Mitsui (UT) def. #74 Ewen Lumsden/Petar Jovanovic (MSU) 6-0
3. Angel Diaz/Martim Prata (UT) vs. Gregor Ramskogler/B. Sanchez Martinez (MSU) 4-5, unfinished
Order of Finish: (2,1)
Singles
1. #2 Johannus Monday (UT) def. #123 Nemanja Malesevic (MSU) 6-1, 6-1
2. #57 Emile Hudd (UT) def. Petar Jovanovic (MSU) 6-1, 7-6 (9-7)
3. #108 Carles Hernandez (MSU) def. Blaise Bicknell (UT) 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (11-9)
4. #122 Shunsuke Mitsui (UT) def. Ewen Lumsden (MSU) 7-6 (7-5), 6-1
5. Angel Diaz (UT) def. B. Sanchez Martinez (MSU) 6-3, 6-4
6. Gregor Ramskogler (MSU) def. Tomas Rodriguez (UT) 7-6 (7-4), 6-3
Order of Finish: (1,5,4,3,2,6)
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
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#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1
#1 Singles Match
12
Nemanja Malesevic / 0 (123/-) [MSU]
11
66
#2 Singles Match
12
Petar Jovanovic / 0 [MSU]
16
67
#3 Singles Match
123
Carles Hernandez / 0 (108/-) [MSU]
461
640
#4 Singles Match
12
Ewen Lumsden / 0 [MSU]
61
76
#5 Singles Match
12
B. Sanchez Martinez / 0 [MSU]
34
66
#6 Singles Match
12
Gregor Ramskogler / 0 [MSU]
76
63
Order of Finish:
1,5,4,3,2,6
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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