#16 Tennessee Sinks Vanderbilt, 4-3

Saturday, March 29

Knoxville

3:30 PM

University of Tennessee

Vanderbilt

March 29, 2025 | Men's Tennis

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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The 16th-ranked Tennessee men's tennis team rallied to defeat Vanderbilt, 4-3, on Saturday night at Goodfriend Tennis Center.

Saturday's victory marks the seventh-consecutive conference win for Tennessee (16-5, 7-3 SEC), a streak that ties the record with Chris Woodruff at the helm. The lone other occurrence where UT saw seven straight SEC victories was during the 2022-23 regular season.

The No. 13 pair of Alex Kotzen and Alejandro Moreno got things started for Tennessee with a 6-3 win over Vanderbilt's (8-13, 1-10 SEC) Nathan Cox and Michael Ross. Moments after, Shunsuke Mitsui and Alan Jesudason clinched the doubles point for the Vols, taking down Henry Ruger and Dylan Charlap, 6-2. Jose Garcia and James Newton were trailing Danil Panarin and Giuseppe Cerasuolo, 2-5 before doubles play ended.

Mitsui, the 24th-ranked singles player in the country, opened singles play with an impressive 6-0, 6-0 display against Cox to extend the Vols lead to 2-0 early. Due to rain in the area, the match was forced to be moved inside. The Vols still carried the momentum on court one, as No. 35 Kotzen secured a 6-4, 6-3 victory. However, the Commodores picked up a pair of singles wins to narrow the deficit. Vanderbilt earned triumphs on courts three and five, bringing the match to a 3-2 ledger in favor of Tennessee.

Ian Cruz and Garcia were the two remaining players for Tennessee, and both went into third-set battles to try and clinch the match for the Vols. Garcia fell to Ross, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, leaving Cruz as the sole singles match remaining. The Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, native would not be shy of suspense as his match went into a third-set tiebreaker. Cruz would go on to win his court and clinch the match, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(4).

UP NEXT
Tennessee will hit the road again for matchups against South Carolina and Florida. The Vols will face the Gamecocks on April 3 at 5 p.m. ET and will then take on Florida on April 5 at 1 p.m.

RESULTS
Doubles
1. #13 Alex Kotzen/Alejandro Moreno (TENN) def. #37 Nathan Cox/Michael Ross (VANDY-M) 6-3
2. Shunsuke Mitsui/Alan Jesudason (TENN) def. Henry Ruger/Dylan Charlap (VANDY-M) 6-2
3. Jose Garcia/James Newton (TENN) vs. Danil Panarin/Giuseppe Cerasuolo (VANDY-M) 2-5, unfinished

Order of Finish: 1,2

Singles
1. #35 Alex Kotzen (TENN) def. Danil Panarin (VANDY-M) 6-4, 6-3
2. #24 Shunsuke Mitsui (TENN) def. Nathan Cox (VANDY-M) 6-0, 6-0
3. Pablo Martinez Gomez (VANDY-M) def. Alejandro Moreno (TENN) 6-3, 6-4
4. Michael Ross (VANDY-M) def. Jose Garcia (TENN) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
5. Henry Ruger (VANDY-M) def. Alan Jesudason (TENN) 7-6 (7-4), 6-2
6. Ian Cruz (TENN) def. Callum Markowitz (VANDY-M) 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7-4)

Order of Finish: 2,1,5,3,4,6

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