#6 Vols Roll South Florida, 4-0

Saturday, January 27

Knoxville, TN

12 PM

University of Tennessee

South Florida

January 27, 2024 | Men's Tennis

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The sixth-ranked Tennessee men's tennis team recorded a convincing 4-0 sweep over South Florida in its opening match of ITA Kickoff Weekend, inching the Vols one match closer to qualifying for the 2024 ITA National Indoor Championships.

Tennessee (6-0) got off to a hot start on the doubles courts. Younes Lalami and Filip Apltauer finished first on court three, taking down the Bulls' (1-1) Ben Hudson and Sam Frizelle, 6-4. The 34th-ranked pairing of Shunsuke Mitsui and Filip Pieczonka quickly followed with the clinching 6-3 effort over USF's Bruno Oliveira and Thomas Pavlekovich-Smith at the No. 2 spot. Johannus Monday and Angel Diaz, ranked 34th in doubles, were up 5-3 over the ninth-ranked duo of Alvin Tudorica and Erik Grevelius before the match went unfinished.

The Vols won all six of their first sets in singles competition. Diaz rolled to a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Elijah Cham on court six, taking 71 percent of his break points. Monday gave the Vols a 3-0 advantage with a dominant 6-2, 6-0 win over No. 27 Tudorica, posting his third win over a ranked opponent in three consecutive matches atop the lineup. Pieczonka, debuting at the No. 3 spot, delivered the clinching point for the Big Orange in a decisive 6-2, 6-2 effort over Bruno Oliveira, winning an impressive 91 percent of his total serve points.

"I think it was a strong win from our team," said Pieczonka. "We prepared well and had really good practices this week. Every guy played well, and I was happy to clinch the match today."

ITA KICKOFF SUCCESS
The Vols have swept their opponents in five of the last six opening matches of the ITA Kickoff Weekend, dating back to the 2019 dual match season:

2024 – 4-0 win vs. South Florida
2023 – 4-0 win vs. Louisiana
2022 – 4-0 win vs. Old Dominion
2021 – 4-2 win vs. Ole Miss
2020 – 4-0 win vs. Arizona State
2019 – 4-0 win vs. Arizona State

UNDEFEATED IN SINGLES
Johannus Monday and Filip Pieczonka, who both recorded wins vs. USF, along with Shunsuke Mitsui, whose match went unfinished, are all undefeated in singles competition through UT's first six matches of the dual season.

UP NEXT
Tennessee will take on Oklahoma in a rematch of the 2023 ITA Kickoff Weekend final on Sunday, Jan. 28, at noon ET inside Goodfriend Tennis Center.

RESULTS
Doubles
1. #26 Johannus Monday/Angel Diaz (TENN) vs. #9 Alvin Tudorica/Erik Grevelius (USF) 5-3, unfinished
2. #34 Shunsuke Mitsui/Filip Pieczonka (TENN) def. Bruno Oliveira/T. Pavlekovich-Smith (USF) 6-3
3. Younes Lalami/Filip Apltauer (TENN) def. Ben Hudson/Sam Frizelle (USF) 6-4

Order of Finish: 3,2

Singles
1. #20 Johannus Monday (TENN) def. #27 Alvin Tudorica (USF) 6-2, 6-0
2. #33 Shunsuke Mitsui (TENN) vs. Erik Grevelius (USF) 6-4, 3-3, unfinished
3. Filip Pieczonka (TENN) def. Bruno Oliveira (USF) 6-2, 6-2
4. Filip Apltauer (TENN) vs. T. Pavlekovich-Smith (USF) 6-1, 4-4, unfinished
5. Chris Li (TENN) vs. Tom Pisane (USF) 6-1, 5-1, unfinished
6. Angel Diaz (TENN) def. Elijah Cham (USF) 6-2, 6-1

Order of Finish: 6,1,3