Tennessee tennis picked up its seventh SEC win of the season, beating Vanderbilt 4-3 in a nailbiter.
The No. 16 Vols (16-5, 7-3 SEC) were big favorites heading into the matchup, but Vanderbilt was resilient. The Commodores (8-13, 1-10) fought well against the Vols but have now lost their last 10 games.
Here’s how the Vols beat the Commodores.
Doubles win
The Vols got started on the right foot, winning the doubles point with ease. Tennessee struck with their main pairings on Courts 1 and 2 but elected to use Jose Garcia and James Newton on Court 3.
Court 1 was the first to finish. The No. 13 ranked pair of Alex Kotzen and Alejandro Moreno won with ease, 6-3. Shortly after, Shunsuke Mitsui and Alan Jesudason secured the point. The duo on Court 2 won 6-2, giving Tennessee the early edge.
The Tennessee pair of Garcia and Newton didn’t seem to work on Court 3 as they were down big when the point was called. Although they had two good outings last week, they faced a 2-5 deficit against Vanderbilt as the Tennessee coaching staff still tries to find an answer on the final court.
“We’ve been searching,” associate head coach Matt Lucas said. “We’re trying to piece together pairs that’ll give us a good point down there. They did a good job on the road last weekend at Auburn and Alabama. They mesh well together personality-wise, which is important on the doubles court and honestly, we’re just looking for guys who are just reliable.
Delays prolong the match
The weather was a key element of the match. Two spots of rain caused two delays, the second of which forced the match to head indoors. This postponed the game for nearly 45 minutes, keeping both teams from building continuous momentum.
Despite the conditions, the Vols weathered the storm, closing the match indoors to seal the win.
“It was an awkward day,” Lucas said. “The first one was 30 minutes, and we get back out and we plan to finish outside, and we’re in a comfortable spot. We had to transition to indoors and I don’t think we handled it well.”
Mitsui impressive in win
Mitsui put on a show against the Commodores. On top of a doubles win, ITA’s No. 24 ranked player posted a clean sweep over Vanderbilt’s Nathan Cox, winning straight sets 6-0. This was his 122nd individual win, moving him just three wins away from a spot in the top-5 for Tennessee.
“It’s a lot of concentration to be able to do that,” Lucas said. “Shun’s a great player, but the level of focus that he had today to be able to do that against a good player from Vandy is remarkable and it gave us momentum.”
Nailbiter finish
Although Tennessee led 3-0, it didn’t last long. Vanderbilt responded with two points themselves, setting up a dramatic ending. Courts 4 and 6 remained, with both in the third set.
Jose Garcia fell on Court 4, losing 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. The game was tied at 3 with just Ian Cruz remaining on Court 6.
Cruz nor his opponent could get the edge late. Although Tennessee had opportunities to end the match, Vanderbilt found a way to keep pushing forward. The final court ended up going to a tiebreaker. Cruz took a 5-1 lead and rode it out, securing the win for Tennessee 7-4.
Up next
Tennessee will take on No. 18 South Carolina in Columbia on April 3rd. This will be no easy task on the road as the Gamecocks are 14-5 and 8-2 in SEC play this season.
