BATON ROUGE, La. – The sixth-ranked and No. 2 seed Tennessee men’s tennis team fell to 24th-ranked and No. 11 seed South Carolina, 4-2, Saturday afternoon in the SEC Tournament semifinals at the LSU Tennis Complex.
UT (22-6) dropped the doubles point to the Gamecocks (17-13) with losses on courts three and one. The 83rd-ranked pair of Shunsuke Mitsui and Filip Pieczonka was up 6-5 on court two before going unfinished.
Second-ranked Johannus Monday tied the score at 1-all with a strong 6-1, 6-3 victory over No. 15 Toby Samuel on court one. Filip Apltauer, playing at the No. 6 spot, gave the Vols a one-point lead, defeating Carter Morgan in 6-1, 6-4 fashion.
South Carolina went on to post three consecutive wins on courts two, three and five, securing its spot in the SEC Tournament final.
JOMO’S SUCCESS
With his win over 15th-ranked Toby Samuel, Johannus Monday notched his 17th win over a ranked opponent this season, and he’s now 4-1 against those in the top 25. The senior, who notched a perfect 10-0 record in conference play, boasts an impressive 23-2 dual match record this season.
UP NEXT
Tennessee will learn its seeding and matchup for the NCAA Tournament during the selection show, airing on April 29 at 6:30 p.m. ET on NCAA.com.
RESULTS
Doubles
1. Toby Samuel/James Story (SC) def. #4 Johannus Monday/Angel Diaz (UT), 7-5
2. #83 Shunsuke Mitsui/Filip Pieczonka (UT) vs. Jelani Sarr/Lucas da Silva (SC), 6-5, unfinished
3. Sean Daryabeigi/Casey Hoole (SC) def. James Newton/Filip Apltauer (UT), 7-5
Order of Finish: 3,1
Singles
1. #2 Johannus Monday (UT) def. #15 Toby Samuel (SC), 6-1, 6-3
2. James Story (SC) def. #33 Shunsuke Mitsui (UT), 7-6 (8-6), 6-4
3. Sean Daryabeigi (SC) def. Chris Li (UT), 7-6 (7-2), 7-5
4. Filip Pieczonka (UT) vs. Lucas da Silva (SC), 6-2, 2-6, 3-5, unfinished
5. Jelani Sarr (SC) def. Angel Diaz (UT), 2-6, 6-1, 7-5
6. Filip Apltauer (UT) def. Carter Morgan (SC), 6-1, 6-4
Order of Finish: 1,6,2,3,5
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at University of Tennessee Athletics…