Men’s Tennis Central: NCAA Knoxville Super Regional

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The ninth-ranked and eighth-seeded Tennessee men's tennis team is making an appearance in the NCAA Super Regional round for a fourth consecutive tournament, set to face SEC foe and No. 9 seed South Carolina Saturday at 3 p.m. ET in Barksdale Stadium.

Live stats will be provided by UTsports.com and can be found here. Live streaming for the match is available for free through Playsight here.

Tickets for the Knoxville Super Regional are on sale for $5 and can be purchased here. UT students get in free with a student ID. Free tennis parking is located in SC40 at the Kingston Pike Building. Additional parking information can be found here.

For outdoor matches at Barksdale Stadium this season, concessions and alcoholic beverages will be sold on the concourse, at the top of the grandstand behind court two. More information on Tennessee's enhanced fan experience efforts can be found here.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Saturday, May 13
Tennessee (8) vs. South Carolina (9) – 3 p.m. ET

LAST TIME OUT
Tennessee swept Wake Forest, 4-0, last Saturday to advance to the Super Regionals.

SCOUTING SOUTH CAROLINA
Saturday marks just the second time in which Tennessee (23-7) has faced South Carolina (21-6) in the NCAA Tournament. It is also 61st all-time matchup between the Vols and Gamecocks, with Tennessee holding a 39-21 series lead, dating to 1968.

On April 9, then-ninth-ranked Tennessee dominated then-fifth-ranked South Carolina on the road, 6-1. The Vols have won six of the past seven meetings. Each of the doubles courts were decided by a tiebreaker, with UT clinching the doubles point with a 7-6(4) win on court three.

Five singles wins, including four in straight sets, led to Tennessee's decisive victory.

VOLS IN THE RANKINGS
Singles
#5 – Johannus Monday
#31 – Emile Hudd
#117 – Shunsuke Mitsui

Doubles
#4 – Pat Harper/Johannus Monday
#59 – Emile Hudd/Shunsuke Mitsui

GAMECOCKS IN THE RANKINGS
Singles
#10 – Toby Samuel
#16 – Connor Thomson
#102 – Casey Hoole
#116 – James Story
#122 – Raphael Lambling

Doubles
#1 – Toby Samuel/Connor Thomson
#48 – Jake Beasley/James Story

JO MOMENTUM
• SEC Player of the Year Johannus Monday is a combined 39-6 (.867) in dual singles and doubles matches this spring. At 19-3 in singles and 20-3 on the doubles courts, 33 of those 39 total victories are at the No. 1 lineup spot (16-3 at No. 1 singles and 17-3 at No. 1 doubles).

LIVING IN THE RANKINGS
• With the ITA's May 4 update of its singles and doubles rankings, Tennessee has had either a top-10 singles acclaim or a top-10 doubles pair in 25 of the past 26 dual-season rankings updates, dating to March 24, 2021. The Vols not only have each this week, but a pair of top-five rankings with Monday standing at the No. 5 singles ranking and the duo of Monday and Pat Harper coming in at No. 4 in the doubles rankings.

DUBS DUBS
• In 30 matches this year, UT has won the doubles point 26 times. In its 96 matches since the start of the 2021 dual season, Tennessee has won the doubles point 75 times for a .781 clip in that span.

THE AUSSIE CLIMBS THE RECORD BOOKS
• Harper, with 96 career overall doubles wins at Tennessee, owns sole possession of 10th place on Tennessee's career doubles wins list, surpassing Pablo Montana's (1993-96) 95 wins with his victory Saturday against Wake Forest. 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.

POETRY IN MOSHUN
• Mitsui is 12-1 at the No. 4 singles lineup position this season and 18-6 in dual singles matches this spring. After going 11-2 at the No. 4 slot last season, Mitsui holds a career record of 23-3 (14-2 SEC) at the position.

TENNESSEE'S SEC AWARDS
SEC Player of the Year
Johannus Monday

First Team All-SEC
Johannus Monday
Emile Hudd

Second Team All-SEC
Shunsuke Mitsui

QUICK HITTERS
• Tennessee boasts a 16-1 (.941) home record this season, the second-most home wins among SEC teams this year.
• Having logged 24 overall singles wins a season ago, Angel Diaz already has 29 total singles victories during the 2022-23 campaign.
• This dual season, Emile Hudd is a combined 31-8 (.795) at the No. 2 singles and doubles lineup positions.
• Hudd leads the team in match clinches this season, with six.
• The 2022-23 season marks the 36th consecutive season in which Tennessee has had at least one Australian on the roster, dating to the 1987-88 season. This year, Harper carries on the Australian tradition on Rocky Top.

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Players Mentioned

Angel Diaz

Pat Harper

Emile Hudd

Shunsuke Mitsui

Johannus Monday

University of Tennessee Athletics