KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The sixth-ranked Tennessee men’s tennis team handily defeated Penn and Tennessee Tech 7-0 apiece on Saturday at Goodfriend Tennis Center.
Tennessee (2-0) took down the Quakers (0-1) by a 7-0 final scoreline in the morning match. Afternoon action saw the Vols cruise past Tennessee Tech (0-1) in a 7-0 sweep.
MATCH 1: Tennessee 7, Penn 0
Johannus Monday and Younes Lalami dominated the Quakers’ Matthew Rutter and Parashar Bharadwaj 6-1 to secure the first doubles win of the day at the No. 3 spot. Angel Diaz and Chris Li fell to No. 56-ranked Kian Vakili and Aaron Sandler by a 6-3 score on court two. Shunsuke Mitsui and Filip Pieczonka, the 34th-ranked pair in the nation, battled to overcome Penn’s Manfredi Graziani and Zachery Lim, 7-5, to seal the doubles point for the Vols.
In singles play, No. 33 Mitsui rolled to a 6-1, 6-3 win over Vakili on court three. Monday, ranked 20th in singles, routed Graziani 6-4, 6-2 atop the lineup. The clinching fourth point came from Pieczonka, taking a straight-set 6-3, 6-2 decision over Bharadwaj. Li won a hard-fought first set against Baylor Sai, 7-6(0), before Sai retired due to injury from the match trailing 3-1 in the second set.
The Vols jumped to a 6-0 lead with Lalami defeating Sandler 6-2, 6-3 at the No. 2 spot, winning 75 percent of his first serve points. Filip Apltauer rounded out singles competition with a decisive 6-3, 6-3 victory over Rutter.
MATCH 2: Tennessee 7, Tennessee Tech 0
Saturday’s afternoon match saw Diaz and Pieczonka race past the Golden Eagles’ Alex Alvarez and Lucas Bitner with a 6-1 result on court two. Li and Newton followed in 6-4 fashion, beating Murilo Burckhardt and Darek Kuczynski to give the Vols a one-point advantage.
Newton, making his UT debut vs. Tennessee Tech, notched the first singles victory of the match with a dominating 6-0, 6-1 win over Kuczynski. Monday bested Alvarez 6-1, 6-2 at the No. 1 spot, while Apltauer clinched the match with a firm 6-1, 6-1 win over Davids Spaks.
Li extended UT’s lead to 5-0 with a decisive 6-2, 6-2 victory over Paulo Ramos Martin, winning 81 percent of his first-serve points. Mitsui was assertive in a 6-2, 6-3 win over Burkhardt. After coming up short in a gritty first set, Diaz fought to take down Lucas Bitzer in a three-set tiebreaker 5-7, 6-1, 10-6 to hand the Vols their third dual match sweep of the 2024 slate.
MONDAY AT THE NO. 1 SPOT
Johannus Monday registered his…
Tennessee (2-0) took down the Quakers (0-1) by a 7-0 final scoreline in the morning match. Afternoon action saw the Vols cruise past Tennessee Tech (0-1) in a 7-0 sweep.
MATCH 1: Tennessee 7, Penn 0
Johannus Monday and Younes Lalami dominated the Quakers’ Matthew Rutter and Parashar Bharadwaj 6-1 to secure the first doubles win of the day at the No. 3 spot. Angel Diaz and Chris Li fell to No. 56-ranked Kian Vakili and Aaron Sandler by a 6-3 score on court two. Shunsuke Mitsui and Filip Pieczonka, the 34th-ranked pair in the nation, battled to overcome Penn’s Manfredi Graziani and Zachery Lim, 7-5, to seal the doubles point for the Vols.
In singles play, No. 33 Mitsui rolled to a 6-1, 6-3 win over Vakili on court three. Monday, ranked 20th in singles, routed Graziani 6-4, 6-2 atop the lineup. The clinching fourth point came from Pieczonka, taking a straight-set 6-3, 6-2 decision over Bharadwaj. Li won a hard-fought first set against Baylor Sai, 7-6(0), before Sai retired due to injury from the match trailing 3-1 in the second set.
The Vols jumped to a 6-0 lead with Lalami defeating Sandler 6-2, 6-3 at the No. 2 spot, winning 75 percent of his first serve points. Filip Apltauer rounded out singles competition with a decisive 6-3, 6-3 victory over Rutter.
MATCH 2: Tennessee 7, Tennessee Tech 0
Saturday’s afternoon match saw Diaz and Pieczonka race past the Golden Eagles’ Alex Alvarez and Lucas Bitner with a 6-1 result on court two. Li and Newton followed in 6-4 fashion, beating Murilo Burckhardt and Darek Kuczynski to give the Vols a one-point advantage.
Newton, making his UT debut vs. Tennessee Tech, notched the first singles victory of the match with a dominating 6-0, 6-1 win over Kuczynski. Monday bested Alvarez 6-1, 6-2 at the No. 1 spot, while Apltauer clinched the match with a firm 6-1, 6-1 win over Davids Spaks.
Li extended UT’s lead to 5-0 with a decisive 6-2, 6-2 victory over Paulo Ramos Martin, winning 81 percent of his first-serve points. Mitsui was assertive in a 6-2, 6-3 win over Burkhardt. After coming up short in a gritty first set, Diaz fought to take down Lucas Bitzer in a three-set tiebreaker 5-7, 6-1, 10-6 to hand the Vols their third dual match sweep of the 2024 slate.
MONDAY AT THE NO. 1 SPOT
Johannus Monday registered his…
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