Men's Tennis Central: #9 Tennessee vs. Auburn

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The ninth-ranked Tennessee men's tennis team is primed for another conference showdown, as it welcomes No. 35 Auburn to Barksdale Stadium on Friday at 5 p.m. ET.

Live stats will be provided by UTsports.com and can be found here. Live streaming is available for free through Playsight here. CrackedRacquets is offering cross-cast coverage of SEC matches on ESPN+ that 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.

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.

LAST TIME OUT
Tennessee (13-3, 2-0 SEC) is coming off an impressive 2-0 start to SEC play, taking down Georgia, 6-1, and Arkansas, 4-1. The Vols went 5-0 in doubles action on the weekend, and Johannus Monday and Shunsuke Mitsui won both of their singles matches in straight sets at the top two spots in the lineup.

SCOUTING AUBURN
The Tigers (10-4, 1-1 SEC) are 1-3 against ranked opponents in 2024, beating No. 27 MTSU, 4-2, on Feb. 23, while falling to No. 18 Texas A&M, 4-2, at ITA Kickoff Weekend, and dropping back-to-back matches to No. 21 Michigan State, 4-3, and No. 18 Alabama, 4-2. Auburn gained its first conference win in Oxford, routing Ole Miss by a 4-1 result on March 1.

Auburn's 40th-ranked Tyler Stice boasts a 7-3 dual match record, playing primarily atop the Tigers' lineup and is 2-1 against top-50 ranked opponents this season. No. 73 Finn Murgett is undefeated in singles (10-0), playing at the No. 2 and 3 spots. Nicholas Hang boasts a 6-1 record at the No. 6 spot. AU is 20-14 (.588) in dual match doubles play and 2-0 in conference action.

VOLS IN THE RANKINGS
Singles
#7 - Johannus Monday
#23 - Shunsuke Mitsui
#94 - Filip Pieczonka

Doubles
#4 - Johannus Monday/Angel Diaz
#20 - Shunsuke Mitsui/Filip Pieczonka

TIGERS IN THE RANKINGS
Singles
#40 - Tyler Stice
#73 - Finn Murgett

JO AND ANGEL AT NO. 1
With a 6-3 victory over Arkansas' 45th-ranked Horwood and Manuel, Johannus Monday and Angel Diaz notched their fourth win over a ranked opponent in 2024. The duo boasts an impressive 4-0 record against pairs ranked in the top 50, including a 2-0 mark against those in the top 10.

MONDAY HITS 25 SEC SINGLES WINS
The senior's victory over the Razorbacks' Planelle marked his 25th career SEC singles win. He holds an impressive 13-2 conference record at the top singles position and a 12-2 mark at the No. 2 spot.

VOLS IN 2023 SEC PLAY
UT registered a 10-2 record in conference play last season, including an impressive seven match winning streak to finish second in the SEC heading into the postseason. Johannus Monday, Shunsuke Mitsui and Angel Diaz, Tennessee's three returners from last season, eclipsed nine wins in their respective lineup positions in 2023 conference action.

QUICK HITTERS
● Tennessee holds a 32-7 (.821) collective record in doubles this spring, including an 11-1 record at the No. 1 spot.
● Johannus Monday has defeated eight ranked opponents in 2023-24, five residing in the top 50.
● UT has won the doubles point in 15 of its 16 matches this season.

MILESTONE TRACKER
● Angel Diaz is one victory away from hitting 40 career dual match doubles wins.
● Shunsuke Mitsui is two wins away from tallying 80 career singles victories and three wins away from registering 75 career doubles victories.
● Johannus Monday needs seven more singles wins to eclipse 100 career victories.

UP NEXT
The Vols continue their four-match homestand to kick off SEC action, hosting No. 27 Florida on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET at Barksdale Stadium.

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Players Mentioned

Angel Diaz

Shunsuke Mitsui

Johannus Monday

Filip Pieczonka

University of Tennessee Athletics