STILLWATER, Okla. – The seventh-seeded, No. 7 Tennessee men’s tennis team battled to the end Thursday evening against third-ranked, No. 2 seed Texas in the NCAA quarterfinal round, eventually falling, 4-2.
Tennessee (25-7) dropped a hard-fought doubles point to the Longhorns to open proceedings. Each doubles match was decided in 6-3 fashion, with Texas (26-3) picking up victories on courts one and three. The No. 77-ranked tandem of Shunsuke Mitsui and Filip Pieczonka overcame the pairing of Micah Braswell and Eshan Talluri on court two.
Mitsui and Pieczonka broke Braswell and Talluri in the match’s second game and never faltered from there.
In singles play, graduate student Angel Diaz earned career singles victory No. 100 in what eventually marked his final collegiate singles match. He defeated Siem Woldeab of Texas in resounding fashion, 6-1, 6-4. In the second set, Diaz went up a double break by winning a deuce point to take a 4-1 set advantage.
Singles wins by the Longhorns on courts three and two gave Texas a 3-1 lead, but the Vols continued to apply pressure.
Freshman Filip Apltauer showed grit on court five, impressively toppling No. 56 Braswell in straight sets, 7-6(5), 6-1, to cut Tennessee’s deficit to 3-2.
The top of the singles lineup saw Tennessee’s top-ranked Johannus Monday battle the nation’s second-ranked singles player in Texas’ Eliot Spizzirri. Despite holding a 6-4, 5-2, lead, Spizzirri fought back to win the second set and eventually the match, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.
Competing in an exhilarating court-six match, the Vols’ Younes Lalami went unfinished at 7-5, 1-6, 6-6(3-3) versus Texas’ Cleeve Harper.
In 2023-24, Tennessee posted its fourth consecutive 23-plus win season under head coach Chris Woodruff, reaching the NCAA quarterfinals for the third time in four years.
RESULTS
Doubles
1. #26 Eliot Spizzirri/Siem Woldeab (TEX) def. #6 Angel Diaz and Johannus Monday, 6-3
2. #77 Shunsuke Mitsui and Filip Pieczonka (TENN) def. Micah Braswell and Eshan Talluri (TEX), 6-3
3. Lucas Brown and Cleeve Harper (TEX) def. Filip Apltauer and Younes Lalami (TENN), 6-3
Order of Finish: 1,2,3
Singles
1. #2 Eliot Spizzirri (TEX) def. #1 Johannus Monday (TENN), 4-6, 7-5, 6-3
2. #5 Micah Braswell (TEX) def. #37 Shunsuke Mitsui (TENN), 6-3, 7-5
3. #40 Gilles-Arnaud Bailly (TEX) def. Filip Pieczonka (TENN), 6-2, 6-3
4. Angel Diaz (TENN) def. Siem Woldeab (TEX), 6-1, 6-4
5. Filip Apltauer (TENN) def. #56 Jonah Braswell (TEX),…
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