#14 Vols Defeat Alabama, 4-3, Advance to SEC Tournament Quarterfinals

Thursday, April 17

Columbia, SC

2 PM

University of Tennessee

Alabama

#14 Vols Defeat Alabama, 4-3, Advance to SEC Tournament Quarterfinals

April 17, 2025 | Men's Tennis

Box Score PDF Box

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The No. 14 overall and 5th-seeded Tennessee men's tennis team rallied to defeat No. 12 seed Alabama, 4-3, on Thursday afternoon at Carolina Tennis Center.

Doubles saw back-and-forth action, with each match ending with less than a two-point differential between Tennessee (19-7, 9-5 SEC) and Alabama (15-12, 4-10 SEC). No. 22 Damien Nezar and Andrii Zimnokh of the Crimson Tide struck first, defeating the 11th-ranked pairing of Alex Kotzen and Alejandro Moreno, 6-4. UT was able to respond, with Shunsuke Mitsui and Alan Jesudason defeating Zach Foster and Enzo Aguiard by the same scoreline. Alabama, however, was able to clinch the early advantage with a 6-4 triumph on court three.

Moving onto singles, the same competitive spirit remained, with each team splitting their first sets. Kotzen, Mitsui and Ian Cruz were the Vols who were able to gain the momentum early. Jose Garcia and Jan Kobierski were able to respond well and push each of their individual matches to a third frame.

Cruz fired off the first singles win for UT, defeating Alabama's Gimenez Perez, 6-4, 6-4. The Crimson Tide were able to respond on court four to take the lead once again. The ranked singles individuals for Tennessee, No. 27 Mitsui and No. 31 Kotzen, earned triumphs within minutes of each other to give the Vols the momentum and a 3-2 advantage.

Alabama secured another singles victory to tie up the scoring and bring the match to a deciding showdown. With the ledger now even at 3-3, Knoxville native Moreno was in the midst of a competitive battle on court three. The junior was able to pull through to clinch the match for UT and a spot in the SEC Tournament Quarterfinals, defeating Enzo Aguiard, 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.

100/100 CLUB FOR SHUN
Senior Shunsuke Mitsui picked up his 100th career doubles victory of his career, securing over 100 wins in both singles and doubles play. He becomes the seventh player ever in school history to achieve this milestone, joining the likes of Byron Talbot, Shelby Cannon, John-Patrick Smith, Boris Conkic, Mikelis Libietis and Adam Walton.

CRUZ CRUISING TO VICTORY
Ian Cruz struck first for the Vols in singles play today, earning a crucial victory at the No. 6 court. The Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, native is 8-2 in his last 10 singles matches, holding a 16-5 dual mark on the season in singles.

UP NEXT
Tennessee will take on No. 15 overall and 4th-seeded Texas A&M on Friday at 2 p.m. ET at Carolina Tennis Center in the SEC Tournament Quarterfinals.

RESULTS
Doubles
1. #22 Damien Nezar/Andrii Zimnokh (UA) def. #11 Alex Kotzen/Alejandro Moreno (TENN) 6-4
2. Shunsuke Mitsui/Alan Jesudason (TENN) def. Zach Foster/Enzo Aguiard (UA) 6-4
3. Roan Jones/Matic Kriznik (UA) def. James Newton/Lance Nisbet (TENN) 6-4

Order of Finish: 1,2,3

Singles
1. #31 Alex Kotzen (TENN) def. #79 Roan Jones (UA) 7-5, 7-6 (7-1)
2. #27 Shunsuke Mitsui (TENN) def. Andrii Zimnokh (UA) 6-3, 1-6, 6-2
3. Alejandro Moreno (TENN) def. Enzo Aguiard (UA) 3-6, 7-5, 6-2
4. Matic Kriznik (UA) def. Jose Garcia (TENN) 6-0, 3-6, 6-1
5. Damien Nezar (UA) def. Jan Kobierski (TENN) 6-2, 3-6, 6-4
6. Ian Cruz (TENN) def. Carlos Gimenez Perez (UA) 6-4, 6-4

Order of Finish: 6,4,2,1,5,3

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