Tennessee tennis lost to Texas A&M on Friday, 4-3.
The No. 17 Vols (17-8, 8-5 SEC) continued their struggles in doubles, losing their third straight doubles point in the loss. The No. 14 Aggies (16-8, 9-4) came prepared, and it was a nail-biting match until the end.
Here’s how it happened in a cold, windy and rainy Barksdale Stadium.
Doubles fall short
Tennessee fell short in doubles for the third match in a row. The Vols couldn’t navigate the windy conditions, and they fell on courts 1 and 3. Court 2 trailed as the point was called.
The first court to finish was Court 3. The Aggies dominated the pair of Jan Kobierski and Jose Garcia, winning, 6-1, to start the evening. Things only got worse for Tennessee as the duo of Alejandro Moreno and Alex Kotzen fell 6-3 on Court 1 to seal the point.
Although the Vols have been good this year on the doubles court, some issues have started to arise toward the tail end of the regular season.
“We’ve been really good at Court 1 and 2,” associate head coach Matt Lucas said. “We’ve also been really, really bad on Court 3 all year long. It’s really tough when we get to these moments, and it’s tough to win four singles matches against good teams, so that doubles point is vital.”
Poor conditions
A main point of Friday’s match was the weather. Despite mostly normal conditions this week in Knoxville, both teams had to navigate the harsh conditions throughout the match.
Although the wind was whipping and there was a 30-minute rain delay between doubles and singles, the Vols were unaffected.
“It’s tennis, they’re used to it since it’s an outdoor sport,” Lucas said. “It’s meant to be played outdoors with conditions rather than inside. We started well, so I don’t think it was an issue.”
Solid singles outing
The Vols were able to keep it close thanks to a good showing in singles. They rebounded well after the doubles loss, winning three courts to stay competitive.
Shunsuke Mitsui won the first singles point of the day, winning in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. His match was the only one to not need a third set. Alan Jesudason was the next to finish, but he fell, 2-6, 6-3, 3-6 to give the Aggies the lead back.
No. 33 Kotzen beat No. 35 Theo Papamalamis, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 to tie the overall match. Moreno lost to his opponent 6-2, 3-6, 2-6 to give Texas A&M the edge by a point.
Two courts remained, and the Vols needed both to win the match.
First up was Ian Cruz, who polished off his opponent to tie the match up at three. He won 6-4, 6-7, 6-3, putting the weight of the match on Garcia’s shoulders. Garcia was unable to close sealing the match as he lost 5-7, 7-6, 4-6.
“I don’t think these guys quite comprehend momentum yet,” Lucas said. “In a match, there are tactical things and there are technical things on the tennis court, but they’re not quite honed in yet the on the momentum. That can really break a match open, so we’ve got to get better at that.”
Inability to close
In the tough loss, Tennessee had plenty of chances to pick up the win. The biggest “what-if” of the match came in Garcia’s second set where he lost 7-6 in the tiebreak. He battled the entire set but was unable to finish strong in a match that would have given the Vols the win.
“He’s got to close that out and he knows it,” Lucas said. “Everyone in the building knows that. To the other kid’s credit, he didn’t give any free points away, and I think Jose kind of kind of saw the finish line a little bit and didn’t just keep his head down and keep running.”
Up next
Tennessee will host No. 3 Texas on Sunday. The Longhorns are a perfect 13-0 in SEC play this year. It’s an important test for the Vols ahead of the postseason.
