Head coach Chris Woodruff just sat on the bench of Court 4 and spectated, arms crossed, calm as could be. After all, he looked pleased with the display his team had put on.

Tennessee men’s tennis swept Bellarmine at Goodfriend Tennis Center, 7-0, to open up their doubleheader on Thursday, with a quick turnaround before facing Eastern Kentucky in the evening.

It was a very measured display from the Vols (3-3), who thoroughly outclassed the visiting Knights (0-4). With starter Dragos Cazacu away for a tournament, Tennessee changed up their doubles lineup, with Alejandro Moreno playing with Piotr Siekanowicz and Ethan Muza partnering with Boruch Skierkier.

“We just wanted to see some different pairings,” said associate head coach Matt Lucas. “A couple of those, Moreno and Piotr, had played in the fall a little bit, so we stuck them in there, and it was a good day.”

Further, Japanese freshman Shion Itsusaki made his debut with Tennessee aside Jose Garcia on Court 3, and the freshman wasted little time announcing his presence. He pounced and poached early and often at the net, and he played strong from the baseline when necessary, proving to be a reliable presence beside the veteran Garcia. They made quick work of Sebastian Baumann and Alex English, winning 6-2.

“He’s practiced maybe three days, and then he gets in there and it’s tough,” Lucas said. “But I thought he was really, really good — solid in the doubles.”

Despite being broken apart, Moreno and Muza played well alongside new partners, and it seemed to be a race between the two to see who would clinch the doubles point. Moreno won out alongside Siekanowicz, cruising to a 6-1 win over Ryan Parkins and Eli Wood to secure the doubles point.

“We were steady,” Lucas said. “We didn’t have the spectacular, but we didn’t have the terrible. Good decisions, lot of first serves made, lot of returns made.”

In the singles session, Tennessee played a very steady brand of tennis through each of their matches. Moreno started slow but picked up his level en route to a 6-3, 6-2 win on Court 1.

“I thought Alejandro did a really good job of dictating, not playing too passively, playing patiently aggressive and getting his opportunities to come forward as well,” Lucas said.

Garcia, having displayed a tendency to start slow in singles recently, flipped the script and raced to a quick first-set win versus Wood. His level was very consistent, dictating with his forehand and playing a very measured brand of tennis. Despite Wood picking up his level and pressuring with more of a serve-and-volley style, Garcia held his nerve and closed out the match with a 6-2, 7-5 win.

Jan Kobierski battled Baumann on Court 3 and was pushed in a tightly contested opening set. Content to build his points and rely on his various tools, Kobierski ground his way to an opening set win before turning up his aggression and closing strong with a 7-5, 6-3 win.

Itsusaki capped an impressive first match with the Vols by cruising to a 6-2, 6-0 win down on Court 6.

“He did a really nice job down on six,” Lucas said. “I think we counted he had four unforced errors the whole match, played aggressively but smart, and that’s kinda what we’re looking for.”

Siekanowicz and Muza played quite measured and controlled matches of their own, with neither man dropping more than two games across any of the sets they clinched in their wins.