Men’s Tennis Central: #6 Tennessee at #5 Kentucky

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The sixth-ranked Tennessee men’s tennis team is primed for a top-10 road showdown at No. 5 Kentucky in its regular-season finale. First serve is set for 1 p.m. ET on Sunday at Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex, with a share of the SEC regular season championship at stake for the Vols. 
 
Live stats will be provided and can be found here. A live stream is available here. CrackedRacquets will be providing a cross-court coverage of Sunday’s conference matches through ESPN+ here. 

LAST TIME OUT

The Vols (21-4, 10-1 SEC) won their sixth consecutive match with a 5-2 effort over Ole Miss on April 7. UT secured the doubles point for the 22nd time this season with wins on courts one and three. Chris Li routed the Rebels’ Isac Stromberg, 6-1, 6-4, on court three. Shunsuke Mitsui, ranked 31st in singles, took down John Hallquist Lithen, 6-4, 6-2, at the No. 2 spot. Angel Diaz clinched the match with a three-setter over Carson Baker on court six, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2. Third-ranked Johannus Monday defeated No. 50 Nikola Slavic in 7-6(3), 6-4 fashion atop the lineup to reach his 100th career singles victory. 

 

SCOUTING KENTUCKY

Kentucky (20-2, 11-0 SEC) is coming off a 4-1 win vs. Georgia on April 12 at home to remain undefeated in conference play. The Wildcats are on a 13-match winning streak and boast a 7-1 mark against top-25 ranked opponents this season.

 

Taha Baadi, ranked 38th in the nation, is 10-6 atop UK’s singles lineup in 2024 and holds an 8-4 record against ranked opponents. Eli Stephenson is undefeated in dual match action with a 13-0 record, playing primarily at the No. 6 spot.

 

UK’s eighth-ranked pair of Joshua Lapadat and JJ Mercer boasts a 12-4 mark at the No. 1 position and has won five of their most recent matches.

 

VOLS IN THE RANKINGS

Singles

#3 – Johannus Monday

#31 – Shunsuke Mitsui

 

Doubles

#10 – Johannus Monday/Angel Diaz

#58 – Shunsuke Mitsui/Filip Pieczonka

 

WILDCATS IN THE RANKINGS

Singles

#38 – Taha Baadi

#99 – Joshua Lapadat

#124 – Jaden Weekes

 

Doubles

#8 – Joshua Lapadat/JJ Mercer

 

JOMO HITS 100

Johannus Monday eclipsed the 100 career singles win mark with his straight-set effort over Ole Miss’ 50th-ranked Nikola Slavic. The senior holds an impressive .806 winning percentage during his time at UT and boasts a 42-6 career mark atop the Vols’ lineup. His triumph over Slavic marked his 15th victory over a ranked opponent this season and his 20th conference win…