Tennessee (6-0) got off to a hot start on the doubles courts. Younes Lalami and Filip Apltauer finished first on court three, taking down the Bulls’ (1-1) Ben Hudson and Sam Frizelle, 6-4. The 34th-ranked pairing of Shunsuke Mitsui and Filip Pieczonka quickly followed with the clinching 6-3 effort over USF’s Bruno Oliveira and Thomas Pavlekovich-Smith at the No. 2 spot. Johannus Monday and Angel Diaz, ranked 34th in doubles, were up 5-3 over the ninth-ranked duo of Alvin Tudorica and Erik Grevelius before the match went unfinished.
The Vols won all six of their first sets in singles competition. Diaz rolled to a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Elijah Cham on court six, taking 71 percent of his break points. Monday gave the Vols a 3-0 advantage with a dominant 6-2, 6-0 win over No. 27 Tudorica, posting his third win over a ranked opponent in three consecutive matches atop the lineup. Pieczonka, debuting at the No. 3 spot, delivered the clinching point for the Big Orange in a decisive 6-2, 6-2 effort over Bruno Oliveira, winning an impressive 91 percent of his total serve points.
“I think it was a strong win from our team,” said Pieczonka. “We prepared well and had really good practices this week. Every guy played well, and I was happy to clinch the match today.”
ITA KICKOFF SUCCESS
The Vols have swept their opponents in five of the last six opening matches of the ITA Kickoff Weekend, dating back to the 2019 dual match season:
- 2024 – 4-0 win vs. South Florida
- 2023 – 4-0 win vs. Louisiana
- 2022 – 4-0 win vs. Old Dominion
- 2021 – 4-2 win vs. Ole Miss
- 2020 – 4-0 win vs. Arizona State
- 2019 – 4-0 win vs. Arizona State
UNDEFEATED IN SINGLES
Johannus Monday and Filip Pieczonka, who both recorded wins vs. USF, along with Shunsuke Mitsui, whose match went unfinished, are all undefeated in singles competition through UT’s first six matches of the dual season.
UP NEXT
Tennessee will take on Oklahoma in a rematch of the 2023 ITA Kickoff Weekend final on Sunday, Jan. 28, at noon ET inside Goodfriend Tennis Center.
RESULTS
Doubles
1. #26 Johannus Monday/Angel Diaz (TENN) vs. #9 Alvin Tudorica/Erik Grevelius (USF) 5-3, unfinished
2. #34 Shunsuke Mitsui/
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