New-Look Tennis Vols Set Sights on 2023-24 Season

The Tennessee men's tennis program has enjoyed a wealth of success under head coach Chris Woodruff's leadership. Since the 2020-21 season, the Vols boast two NCAA semifinal appearances (2021 and 2022), an SEC Tournament Championship (2021) and were the 2022 ITA National Indoor finalists.

The Vols have appeared in each of the last four NCAA Super Regionals, the program's most consecutive runs to the Round of 16 or further since 2008-11.

Tennessee recently achieved the program's first No. 1 national ranking since 2011, doing so early in the 2022 dual season. Later that year, the Vols held a 28-week streak of top-five designations in the ITA national rankings.

Entering the 2023-24 campaign, Woodruff's seventh at the helm of his alma mater and 22nd year on staff at Tennessee, UT welcomes the nation's No. 3 recruiting class according to the Tennis Recruiting Network, the highest rated class in program history.

Tennessee's rebuilt roster features five freshmen and a total of six newcomers, along with four returners from the 2022-23 squad.

"When you have this many new guys coming in, it's always a good challenge that is paired with great anticipation about what lies ahead," Woodruff said. "From a developmental standpoint, it's about how good they can all be. Challenge-wise, it's about blending them with the guys we have coming back and trying to develop the strongest and closest team that we possibly can. There is a lot of optimism in the air as we start a new chapter in the fall of 2023."

UT's 2023-24 roster is full of youthful talent with five incoming freshmen.

Filip Pieczonka (13.61 UTR), a freshman from Gdańsk, Poland, arrives on Rocky Top with a career-best Junior ITF ranking of No. 39. As the former No. 1 Polish Junior, Pieczonka won six doubles titles and one singles title as a Junior.

Freshman Olaf Pieczkowski (13.45 UTR), from Olsztyn, Poland, joins the Vols holding a career-high ITF junior ranking of No. 13, making him the fifth top-15 ITF junior to sign with the Vols since 2009. His current ATP singles ranking is No. 710.

Nicolas Kobelt (12.81 UTR), a freshman from Olten, Switzerland, owns a career-high ITF Junior ranking of No. 106. Kobelt has reached an ATP singles ranking of No. 810. He won his first professional singles title in October 2022.

Freshman Filip Apltauer (12.76 UTR), a native of Prague, Czech Republic, holds a career-high ITF singles ranking of No. 86. Throughout his junior career he won seven doubles titles—five in 2022—along with one singles title. He recently made his first pro quarterfinal and his current ATP singles ranking is No. 1610.

James Newton, originally from Perth, Australia, joins the Vols as a freshman owning a top-10 UTR among U18 competitors in Australia. He is a two-time doubles finalist, reached a doubles semifinal at the Junior ITF level and logged a finals appearance at the U14 singles grass court nationals. He extends Tennessee's historic streak of having at least one Aussie on its roster to 37 consecutive seasons.

Chris Li, Tennessee's one incoming transfer in the class, arrives in Knoxville by way of North Carolina, where he played two years for the Tar Heels. In his prep career, he rose to as high as No. 72 in the ITF junior singles rankings. Logging a 7-6 singles record in 2022-23, Li will be a junior for the Vols this season.

"I am very excited about our team next year," associate head coach James McKie said. "We are bringing in a very talented group which our great fans should be very excited about. Our returners will have a huge role in leading and assisting these guys. Our success will truly depend on their ability to lead. We have great players, which is nice, but more importantly I see a team of good people. I am eager to get started this summer."

Tennessee's four returners for the 2023-24 season are Johannus Monday, Shunsuke Mitsui, Angel Diaz and Blaise Bicknell.

Johannus Monday, a three-time ITA Singles All-American and 2023 SEC Player of the Year, enters his fourth and final season on Rocky Top.

Shunsuke Mitsui, a two-time All-SEC performer, is set to be a junior for the Big Orange. Last season, Mitsui improved his career mark at the No. 4 singles position to 23-4 (14-2 SEC).

Angel Diaz is slated to be one of two graduate students for Tennessee. Diaz reached the 30-win mark in singles (30-9) for the first time in his career during the 2022-23 campaign.

Blaise Bicknell also has one more year of eligibility on Rocky Top. He logged 15 singles wins last season, going 9-8 at the No. 3 singles spot. In May, he made his first professional semifinal appearance of the summer.

"The guys that we have returning are all very capable," Woodruff said. "They've been around and have played in a lot of big matches. The hope and the expectation is that they will help integrate the new guys into what we have right now. Last year, I don't think anybody achieved what we had set out to do.

"This year, I think the veterans will carry the onus of trying to get back to where we know we're capable of getting. These guys coming in are highly, highly accomplished and skilled tennis players. The guys we have coming back are highly skilled and accomplished tennis players. From a playability aspect, I think that bodes well for the future."

University of Tennessee Athletics

Players Mentioned

Blaise Bicknell

Angel Diaz

Shunsuke Mitsui

Johannus Monday

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