The Vols had a solid outing on Saturday, handling Elon, 4-0, and taking down Penn, 6-1. No. 16 Tennessee (7-2) had a strong outing in its outdoor opener, easily handling the Phoenix (0-2) and the Quakers (5-1).
Here’s how it went down on Saturday.
Strong doubles play leads the way
The Vols easily took both of the doubles points. After losing three straight doubles points against Wake Forest, Illinois and Michigan, the Vols have rebounded to the tune of three wins in a row.
Alex Kotzen and Alejandro Moreno were the most impressive pair for the Vols, winning 6-1 over Elon and 6-3 over Penn on Court 1. Shunsuke Mitsui and Alan Jesudason also played up to par, notching a 6-3 victory over Elon after jumping out to a 4-1 lead. However, they were unable to finish their second match of the day, tied 6-6 when the doubles point was called.
Ian Cruz and James Newton initially got the nod against Elon but found themselves in a 5-3 deficit when the point was called. For the next match, the Vols switched it up, electing to use Newton and Jan Kobierski against Penn.
The decision paid off, as Court 3 fought hard to seal the doubles point for the Vols, winning 7-5.
“We’ve been struggling at that spot,” associate head coach Matt Lucas said. “We’re searching and trying to find out the right pairs. We wanted to see Ian outdoors and see what he had in doubles because a lefty could be problematic for the other team.”
Mitsui builds off impressive week
Mitsui proved why he deserved the SEC Player of the Week award last week after a dominant performance on Saturday. After he and Jesudason sealed the doubles point over Elon, he took down Veljko Krstic, winning 6-3 in straight sets.
He was unable to finish his doubles match against Penn, but he was in the lead. His singles match didn’t affect the outcome of the game, as the Vols were up 5-0 when he finished his day. However, he did pull out a 6-4, 2-6, 1-0 (10-4) win.
“He just needs to relax,” Lucas said. “He started complaining about the long day and the wind, but when he settles down and plays, he’s one of the premier players in all of college tennis.”
Cruz dominant in win
Cruz was the most impressive player of the day for the Vols, posting a 6-1, 6-0 win over Elon’s Alonso Roca and a 6-1, 6-1 win over Penn’s Matthew Rutter. He never lost the momentum in both matches, starting and finishing the day strong.
He snapped his two-game slump, getting back in the win column. Although the season hasn’t gone the way he’d hoped so far, Saturday helped him get back on track. With the win over Elon and Penn, he ups his record to 5-2.
“I feel like we did a good job adapting from indoors to outdoors,” Cruz said. “I’m feeling good about my game, especially outdoors. I grind a lot, and I feel like it helps me a lot.”
With his wins, Cruz has also achieved 75 singles wins in his career.
“It feels unbelievable,” Cruz said. “Especially getting both wins in front of the crowd. It was fun, and I really enjoyed it.”
Up next
The Vols will be on a two-week hiatus, coming back on Feb. 22 at home to begin conference play.
