Men's Tennis Central: ITA Kickoff Weekend

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The sixth-ranked Tennessee men's tennis team is set to host the 15th annual ITA Kickoff Weekend, welcoming South Florida, Oklahoma and Washington to Rocky Top, Saturday-Sunday, Jan. 27-28.

The winner of the Tennessee Region of the ITA Kickoff will advance to the ITA National Indoor Championship, hosted by Columbia University in New York City. Tennessee (5-0) looks to advance to its fourth consecutive ITA Indoor Championship.

All matches throughout the weekend will be played at Goodfriend Tennis Center. Live stats of the match can be found here and a live stream of Sunday's action can be accessed here. CrackedRacquets will provide cross-court coverage of the matches on ESPN+ which can be found here. Admission is free and complimentary tennis parking is located in SC40 at the Kingston Pike Building. Additional parking information can be found here.

SCHEDULE
Saturday, Jan. 27
Oklahoma vs. Washington - 9 a.m. ET
Tennessee vs. South Florida - 12 p.m. ET

Sunday, Jan. 28
Loser of Match 1 vs. Loser of Match 2 - 9 a.m. ET
Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2 - 12 p.m. ET

LAST TIME OUT
The Vols defeated No. 15 Wake Forest, 5-2, on Jan. 21, recording back-to-back victories over top-15 opponents. No. 33 Shunsuke Mitsui clinched the match for the Big Orange, routing No. 54 DK Suresh, 7-6(4), 6-4, to register his third victory over a ranked opponent in 2023-24.

SCOUTING SOUTH FLORIDA
Saturday's matchup between the Vols and the Bulls marks the ninth meeting between the two programs, with Tennessee holding an impressive 8-0 advantage, dating back to 1966.

USF (1-0) is coming off a 6-1 win over Florida Southern College on Jan. 21. No. 27 Alvin Tudorica, who played atop the Bulls' lineup in their season opener, posted a 14-11 record in singles competition last season, playing at the No. 2 and 3 spots.

The Bulls' ninth-ranked double pair of Tudorica and Erik Grevelius notched an 8-3 dual record in 2023, ending on a seven-match winning streak.

SCOUTING OKLAHOMA
A potential meeting between the Vols and Sooners (4-0) Sunday would mark the sixth all-time between the two squads. Tennessee has won four of the previous five matchups, with those victories coming in 2023, 2021, 2020 and 1974.

Last season, UT defeated OU, 4-3, thanks to Johannus Monday's clinching effort in a gritty finale to send the Vols to Chicago for the 2023 ITA Indoor Championship.

Oklahoma is undefeated through its first four matches of 2024, taking down UTSA, 5-2, and sweeping Oral Roberts, UT Arlington and Illinois State. No. 91 Alex Martinez, playing atop the Sooners' lineup, compiled a 17-13 singles record last spring, and No. 89 Luis Alvarez, playing at the No. 4 and 5 spots this season, completed his freshman season at 8-4 in singles.

SCOUTING WASHINGTON
Washington (2-0) kicked off its 2024 season with a sweep over Idaho, and a 6-1 victory over Portland State. The No. 12 doubles duo of Caesar Bouchelaghem and Dzianis Zharyn went 12-7 last season, posting five ranked wins at the No. 1 spot.

If the Vols and Huskies meet Sunday, it would mark the second all-time match between the programs. Tennessee swept Washington back in 1993 in its first ever meeting.

VOLS IN THE RANKINGS
Singles
#20 - Johannus Monday
#33 - Shunsuke Mitsui

Doubles
#26 - Johannus Monday/Angel Diaz
#34 - Filip Pieczonka/Shunsuke Mitsui

BULLS IN THE RANKINGS
Singles
#27 - Alvin Tudorica

Doubles
#9 - Erik Grevelius/Alvin Tudorica

SOONERS IN THE RANKINGS
Singles
#89 - Luis Carlos Alvarez Valdes
#91 - Alex Martinez
#125 - Khololwam Montsi

HUSKIES IN THE RANKINGS
Doubles
#12 - Caesar Bouchelaghem/Dzianis Zharyn

HOT START FOR SHUN
Shunsuke Mitsui is off to an impressive 10-0 start on the singles courts, dating to fall action. The junior has defeated three ranked opponents while holding the longest singles winning streak of the 2023-24 squad.

UNDEFEATED IN SINGLES
Johannus Monday and Filip Pieczonka, along with Mitsui, are all undefeated in singles competition through UT's first five matches of the dual season.

MILESTONE TRACKER

Johannus Monday is two wins shy of earning his 75th career doubles victory.
Younes Lalami is one victory away from reaching 40 career singles dual match wins.
Shunsuke Mitsui needs one more singles win to tie his career-best win streak of 11, which he's accomplished twice, the last being 3/16/23-4/22/23.

UP NEXT
Tennessee will travel to Fort Worth, Texas, for a top-six matchup vs. No. 5 TCU on Feb. 4 at 1 p.m. 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

Younes Lalami

Shunsuke Mitsui

Johannus Monday

Filip Pieczonka

University of Tennessee Athletics