Men's Tennis Central: Knoxville Regional

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 14 seed Tennessee men's tennis team is set to host the First and Second Rounds of the 2025 NCAA Team Championship, running May 3-4 at Barksdale Stadium.

This year will mark the 16th time Tennessee has hosted the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The Vols are set to continue their ongoing streak, as UT has played host for the past six full seasons on Rocky Top.

UT finished fifth in the SEC during the regular season with an 18-7 overall record and eventually made a trip to the SEC Tournament Semifinals for the sixth straight year, where they fell to top-seeded Texas. Ian Cruz earned an SEC All-Tournament Team accolade after a 3-0 at the No. 6 spot in singles, extending his current win streak to five matches and 8-2 in his past 10 bouts.

Alex Kotzen and Shunsuke Mitsui were recently named to the All-SEC First Team, while Kotzen also garnered SEC Newcomer of the Year honors. The duo has held down the top two courts in singles play, going a combined 37-12 in dual matches to date.

The 14th-ranked Vols have surpassed the 20-win mark in each of the past seven full seasons. The Vols were 14-2 when the 2020 dual season was shut down due to COVID-19 and reached the 20-win mark in 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and now 2025.

Live stats for all matches throughout the duration of the weekend can be found HERE, while live video can also be obtained HERE.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Saturday, May 3
MTSU vs. Duke – 10 a.m. ET
Tennessee vs. Alabama State – 1 p.m. ET

Sunday, May 4
Winner of Match 1 vs. Winner of Match 2 – 1 p.m. ET

SCOUTING THE FIELD
Alabama State (15-10, 6-0 SWAC) is coming off a SWAC Tournament Championship victory over Jackson State. The Hornets had three individuals named to the All-Tournament Team, as Lun Obrul, Alexandre Verlaguet and David J. Grandinot (MVP) were selected at the conclusion of the tournament.

Saturday will mark the first meeting between the two schools ever. The Hornets have made every NCAA Tournament since the 2021-22 season, earning an automatic bid each year via the SWAC Championship Tournament.

Duke (18-8, 9-4 ACC) is coming off a run to the ACC Championship Semifinals, where they fell to the eventual tournament champions in Stanford. Tennessee is 18-11 all-time against Duke, and the Vols have won the past five matches in the series.

The Blue Devils own an all-time NCAA Championship record of 52-31 and have advanced as far as the quarterfinals, reaching the round of eight in 1993, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2012 and 2013. When competing on the road, Duke boasts a 14-7 record in the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

Middle Tennessee (16-11) has reached the program's sixth consecutive trip to the NCAA Team Tournament and the 17th all-time. The Blue Raiders have advanced to the second round five times in their NCAA Tournament history.

The Vols and Blue Raiders faced off earlier this dual season in Murfreesboro in a match that saw Tennessee take a 5-2 victory. UT won the doubles point and then earned singles victories from Kotzen, Mitsui and Jose Garcia to secure the win.

VOLS IN THE RANKINGS
Singles
#23 – Alex Kotzen
#29 – Shunsuke Mitsui

Doubles
#9 – Alex Kotzen/Alejandro Moreno

BLUE DEVILS IN THE RANKINGS
Singles
#25 – Pedro Rodenas
#47 – Cooper Williams
#96 – Sam Landau

Doubles
#7 – Cooper Williams/Theo Winegar
#46 – Theo Winegar/Pedro Rodenas
#57 – Cooper Williams/Andreja Petrovic
#62 – Pedro Rodenas/Andreja Petrovic
#90 – Remi Dugardin/Gerard Planelles Ripoll

BLUE RAIDERS IN THE RANKINGS
Doubles
#63 – Ondrej Horak/Karim Al-Amin

FAN INFO
All matches throughout the weekend are scheduled to be played outdoors at Barksdale Stadium. Tickets for the weekend can be found HERE.

The clear bag policy will be enforced throughout the duration of the weekend. To view the clear bag policy, click HERE.

Gates for all three matches at the Knoxville Regional will open one hour prior to first serve.

Spectator parking will be provided in the G-17 parking garage off Terrace and Lake Ave.

For the most up-to-date information about the program, follow Tennessee men's tennis on Twitter and Instagram and like us on Facebook.

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Players Mentioned

Ian Cruz

Jose Garcia

Alex Kotzen

Shunsuke Mitsui

Alejandro Moreno

University of Tennessee | Official Athletics Site