Vol Tennis Awaits 2024-25 Campaign

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Over the past few seasons, the Tennessee men's tennis team has enjoyed a stretch of notoriety as a household program within the sport.

Under the direction of head coach Chris Woodruff, the Vols have reached the past five NCAA Super Regionals, which is the program's longest streak since the NCAA Tournament expanded.

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.

2023-24 IN REVIEW

The Big Orange enjoyed a steady balance of continued success and newfound accomplishments during the previous season. For the third time in the past four years, the Vols eclipsed the 25-win mark and reached the NCAA Quarterfinals. The squad also had its first player secure the top spot in the ITA singles rankings since 2013, as two-time SEC Player of the Year and four-time ITA Singles All-American Johannus Monday earned the distinction in May.

For the first time in program history, Tennessee reached a perfect 18-0 record at home, including four wins over top-25 ranked opponents. Finishing with an ITA end-of-year ranking of seventh, UT was one of only four programs in the country to be ranked inside the top 10 all season.

Entering the 2024-25 campaign, Woodruff's eighth as the head coach at Tennessee and 23rd year on staff, the Vols have a mix of returning talent, experienced transfers and skilled freshmen that make this team poised to make a splash this upcoming year. The 2024-25 squad has three returners, four transfers and two newcomers in total.

THE RETURNERS

Shunsuke Mitsui, a senior from Shizuoka, Japan, currently sits eighth in program history for singles winning percentage at 78.6. He is coming off of a stretch of impressive outings in the postseason, making it to the NCAA Singles Round of 16 to garner ITA All-American honors. For his career, Mitsui has a 92-25 record in singles and a 79-23 mark in doubles play. Mitsui is a three-time All-SEC member, including a first-team designation this past season.

James Newton heads into his second season on Rocky Top after tallying double-digit wins in singles this past year. The Perth, Australia, native continues the streak of Aussies within the program, bringing the total to a nation-leading 38 straight years of an Australian on the roster.

Filip Pieczonka, a sophomore from Gdansk, Poland, tallied 19 singles wins and 22 doubles victories during a very impressive freshman campaign. Playing alongside Mitsui for a majority of last year in doubles, the squad went 20-3 and tied for tenth in program history for win percentage in a season at 87.

THE TRANSFERS

Ian Cruz comes to Rocky Top from a few hours out west, as the senior spent the past three seasons at Belmont where he tallied a 64-23 record in singles and went 34-19 in doubles. This past dual season, Cruz went 16-3 at the No. 2 singles spot, including a 17-0 overall singles record in conference play.

Alan Jesudason, a three-year player for Drexel, primarily played at the No. 1 singles spot the past two seasons for the Dragons. The Berwyn, Pennslyvania, native earned All-CAA distinctions the past two years after tallying double-digit singles wins in each season.

Alex Kotzen, a seasoned player who has played for Columbia since the 2019-20 season, comes to Tennessee after going 18-8 overall in singles last year with a 14-5 mark in dual singles play. Kotzen finished the 2023-24 campaign ranked 75th in singles

Alejandro Moreno rounds out the transfer class this year for the Big Orange. The junior is no stranger to the SEC, spending the past two seasons at Auburn. During the fall slate of this past season, the Knoxville, Tennessee, native earned a career-high ITA singles ranking of 65th. For his career to date, Moreno has a 33-26 record in singles and a 26-22 mark in doubles.

THE FRESHMEN

Jose Garcia holds a 12.97 UTR rating coming into UT and was highly ranked both within the southeast region and the country in the 2024 class. He is the highest-rated American to sign with the Big Orange since Tennys Sandgren in 2010. Garcia showed out against top-tier prospects, tallying an 8-1 mark against five-star recruits and a 4-1 record against top-25 opponents during the past year.

Lance Nisbet hails from Merchiston Castle School, which is the same program that produced VFL Monday. He was ranked inside of the top 20 among 17-year-olds in the United Kingdom and served as a tennis captain at the Merchiston Tennis Academy. He won the U18 indoor Junior Scottish Championship singles title in 2022, and he is a two-time U18 Scottish Schools Cup champion.

For the most up-to-date information about the program, follow Tennessee men's tennis on Twitter and Instagram and like us on Facebook.

University of Tennessee Athletics

Players Mentioned

Ian Cruz

Jose Garcia

Alan Jesudason

Alex Kotzen

Shunsuke Mitsui

Johannus Monday

Alejandro Moreno

James Newton

Lance Nisbet

Filip Pieczonka

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