Men’s Tennis Central: #9 Tennessee at #20 Florida

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The ninth-ranked Tennessee men's tennis team returns to action Friday, facing No. 20 Florida on the road at 5 p.m. ET.

Friday's match will be streamed live online via SEC Network+ and the ESPN app, with Cracked Racquets providing whiparound coverage.

Live stats for the match can be accessed here, with a traditional live stream being available here.

LAST TIME OUT
Tennessee dominated No. 4 Kentucky in Knoxville Sunday, winning 4-0 on Senior Day.

SCOUTING FLORIDA
Tennessee (16-6, 6-2 SEC) and Florida (12-8, 5-3 SEC) meet Friday for the 78th time in series history, dating to 1949. Florida leads the all-time series, 47-30. Winners in 10 of its past 12 matches, Tennessee can collect a fifth-consecutive victory with a win Friday. A win over Florida would also give the Vols a fourth top-20 win in their last five matches.

In Florida's latest SEC action, it fell on the road at 25th-ranked Texas A&M, 4-3. The Vols and Gators last met at the 2022 SEC Tournament, with the Gators taking a 4-1 decision in the semifinal round.

VOLS IN THE RANKINGS
Singles
#2 – Johannus Monday
#44 – Emile Hudd
#124 – Shunsuke Mitsui

Doubles
#2 – Pat Harper/Johannus Monday
#44 – Emile Hudd/Shunsuke Mitsui

GATORS IN THE RANKINGS
Singles
#81 – Axel Nefve
#92 – Will Grant
#102 – Jonah Braswell

Doubles
#10 – Will Grant/Axel Nefve
#17 – Tanapatt Nirundorn/Togan Tokac

HOT STREAKS
• On the doubles courts, Emile Hudd (13) and Shunsuke Mitsui (12) each own career-long active winning streaks. Together this season, the duo is 14-1, including a 12-0 mark in dual doubles action. In SEC play at the No. 2 doubles position, Hudd and Mitsui are a perfect 8-0.

DUBS DUBS
• Tennessee's dual doubles record over the past three seasons is 149-59 (.716). In 22 matches this year, UT has won the doubles point 20 times and in its 88 matches since the start of the 2021 dual season, Tennessee has won the doubles point 69 times for a .784 clip in that span.

JO MOMENTUM
• Johannus Monday, a two-time ITA Singles All-American, is a combined 30-3 in dual singles and doubles matches this spring. At 15-1 in singles and 15-2 on the doubles courts, 24 of those 30 total victories are at the No. 1 lineup spot (12-1 at No. 1 singles and 12-2 at No. 1 doubles).

HUDD EYES THE CENTURY MARK
• With his doubles win with Mitsui vs. Kentucky Sunday, Hudd collected the 95th overall doubles win of his career. Over half of those wins (52-of-95) have come in Tennessee orange. Hudd earned 43 doubles victories while playing at Oklahoma State.

LIVING IN THE RANKINGS
• With the ITA's April 4 update of its singles and doubles rankings, Tennessee has had either a top-10 singles acclaim or a top-10 doubles pair in 21 of the past 22 dual-season rankings updates, dating to March 24, 2021. The Vols not only have each this week, but a pair of top-two rankings with Monday standing at the No. 2 singles ranking and the duo of Monday and Pat Harper remaining at a career-high doubles ranking as a pairing, at No. 2.

HISTORY IN SIGHT
• Harper, with 91 career overall doubles wins at Tennessee, is four wins away from cracking the top 10 on the program's all-time doubles wins list. Should he reach 100 career doubles wins by season's end, he would become just the ninth Vol to ever do so in a career.

QUICK HITTERS
• Hudd's clinch in Tennessee's sweep of Kentucky to cap of his 4-0 weekend earned him SEC Player of the week recognition Wednesday.
• Tennessee returned to the top 10 in the ITA's national rankings this week, following a pair of top-12 home wins.
• The Vols are 13-0 when collecting a point at the No. 5 singles position this dual season. Angel Diaz is 8-2 at that spot this year.

GAINESVILLE FACTS
• Due to its subtropical climate, Gainesville and the surrounding area is known for the Spanish moss that hangs from, most commonly, its Southern Live Oak trees.
• With a 2023 population of 141,341, Gainesville is the 13th-largest city in Florida.

UP NEXT
Tennessee faces No. 5 South Carolina in the second match of the road trip Sunday. First serve in Columbia is slated for noon 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

Angel Diaz

Pat Harper

Emile Hudd

Shunsuke Mitsui

Johannus Monday

University of Tennessee Athletics