Tennessee defeated Tennessee State twice on Saturday afternoon, both matches 7-0. The No. 16 Vols (10-2) weren’t initially supposed to compete after their dual match last week but scheduled the unranked Tigers (0-3) ahead of SEC play beginning next Saturday.
Here’s how it went down.
Mitsui unavailable
ITA’s No. 14 ranked player was inactive on Saturday. The coaching staff decided to give him a much-deserved rest day, but he still roamed the courts in full game attire.
“We’re just resting him,” associate head coach Matt Lucas said after the match. “We gave some other guys a chance to play, and it was good. We’re going to need one through 11 on the roster at some point in the season and it was good for those guys to get in and get some action.”
New doubles pairing
In their first match of the day, the Vols did a major reshuffle on Court 3. Jose Garcia got back into the rotation, playing with Alan Jesudason in place of Shunsuke Mitsui. The other two courts stayed the same. Alex Kotzen and Alejandro Moreno competed together on Court 1 while Jan Kobierski and James Newton were promoted to Court 2.
The day started off on a surprising note, as Tennessee State took a small 2-1 lead on Court 1 and 2. As the matches wore on, it seemed that control of the doubles point would be a dogfight. Jesudason and Garcia gave the Vols early confidence, leading 3-0 on Court 3 before winning 6-3. Kotzen and Moreno finished the job, pulling away and winning 6-4.
The Vols picked up where they left off in the second match. They jumped out to 4-1 leads on Court 1 and 2, where they eventually won both 6-2. Garcia and Jesudason struggled early, falling behind 3-1, but turned it around and were up 4-3 when the point was called for Tennessee.
“We wanted to see a bit of Garcia and see what he can bring,” Lucas said. “He played the first couple of matches with Alex (Kotzen), and with Shunsuke out, we wanted to see some different pairings.”
Impressive all-around singles performance
The Vols dominated in singles in their first match, winning the first match in every game for the second straight match. Although that was impressive enough, the Vols remained relentless for the second point on each court, swiftly winning without breaking a sweat. Although many shone, the most impressive performance came from Newton, who won 6-1, 6-0. Kobierski also posted a great performance, winning 6-4 for the first point and dominating the second point 6-0.
The second match followed the same script. The Vols took the first point of every match by a wide margin and didn’t look back. Jesudason impressed, winning straight sets 6-4.
“Alan did a really good job,” Lucas said. “He played two singles and two doubles and went 4-0. It shows his level, and it was good to see him get two wins against two solid players.”
Nisbet makes debut
Lance Nisbet made his debut for the Vols on Court 6, having to step up after Mitsui was inactive. The Edinburgh, Scotland, native saw action in the Middle Tennessee Hidden Duel in the fall, but this was his first time being called up in the spring
His first match came down to the wire, but Tennessee had already secured the win by the time he finished. Nibet had quite the crowd, with his teammates gathering around at the end of his first set. He finished well, winning the first point 7-6. His second point wasn’t as intense, winning 6L-1 to close out Tennessee’s first match of the day 7-0.
He did not participate in the Vols’ second match of the day, as Tennessee elected to give Ian Cruz the green light.
“He played in a few tournaments in the fall, but this was his first dual match, and he was a little nervous,” Lucas said. “He got through that first set, played a good tiebreaker, and then he settled into the match and played a really good second set.”
