#18 Vols Defeat Arkansas, 4-2

Sunday, March 2

Fayetteville, AR

1 PM

University of Tennessee

Arkansas

March 02, 2025 | Men's Tennis

Box Score PDF Box

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The 18th-ranked Tennessee men's tennis team secured its first conference win of the season, fending off Arkansas, 4-2, on Sunday afternoon at Billingsley Tennis Center.

Tennessee (10-5, 1-3 SEC) was able to clinch the doubles point for the second time this year against an SEC opponent thanks to a pair of performances on the top two courts. The 26th-ranked duo of Alex Kotzen and Alejandro Moreno defeated Connor Smillie and Jakub Vrba, 6-2, early on to give the Vols some momentum.

The Razorbacks (12-5, 2-2 SEC) quickly countered with a 6-2 display of their own, leaving one remaining court to decide who receives the advantage heading into singles play. Shunsuke Mitsui and Alan Jesudason rose to the occasion, getting a win on court two, 6-3, and putting the Big Orange up 1-0 on the ledger.

Despite Arkansas taking four of six first sets in singles play, the Vols were still able to create momentum of their own and extend their lead early. Jose Garcia was able to secure a win over Marino Jakic in two sets, 6-1, 6-3, to jump out to a 2-0 advantage over the Razorbacks. No. 16 Mitsui then dropped a match to Lukas Palovic, 6-2, 6-1.

The back-and-forth action continued on court six, with Ian Cruz taking home a 6-1, 6-3 decision against Arthur Bellegy. The only court that featured two ranked singles players went in favor of Arkansas, as No. 102 Vrba was able to edge No. 95 Moreno, 6-3, 6-4, to put the scoring at 3-2 in favor of the Vols.

Kotzen, ranked 31st in the country in singles and playing on court one, came back from losing the first set 6-3 to take his match to a third set against Bozo Barun. The graduate student was able to push forward to a 6-4 victory in the third set to clinch the match for UT. This win marks the New York native's ninth win of the dual season, including his third victory in SEC play.

Jan Kobierski was the lone individual to not finish his singles battle, as he was in a competitive 5-7, 5-5 dogfight before Tennessee clinched the match.

UP NEXT
Tennessee will return home to take on Kentucky on March 9 at 1 p.m. ET at Barksdale Stadium.

RESULTS
Doubles
1. #26 Alex Kotzen/Alejandro Moreno (TENN) def. Connor Smillie/Jakub Vrba (ARKM) 6-2
2. Alan Jesudason/Shunsuke Mitsui (TENN) def. Bozo Barun/Benni Emesz (ARKM) 6-3
3. Brendan Boland/Marino Jakic (ARKM) def. Jan Kobierski/James Newton (TENN) 6-2

Order of Finish: 1,3,2

Singles
1. #31 Alex Kotzen (TENN) def. Bozo Barun (ARKM) 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
2. Lukas Palovic (ARKM) def. #16 Shunsuke Mitsui (TENN) 6-2, 6-1
3. Jose Garcia (TENN) def. Marino Jakic (ARKM) 6-1, 6-3
4. #102 Jakub Vrba (ARKM) def. #95 Alejandro Moreno (TENN) 6-3, 6-4
5. Benni Emesz (ARKM) vs. Jan Kobierski (TENN) 7-5, 5-5, unfinished
6. Ian Cruz (TENN) def. Arthur Bellegy (ARKM) 6-1, 6-3

Order of Finish: 3,2,6,4,1

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