After a long fall season filled with roster turnover, a new face on the coaching staff and some early trouble during indoor play, the moment the Tennessee tennis team had been waiting for finally arrived. The Vols kicked off a grueling yet much anticipated SEC schedule on Saturday against No. 26 Mississippi State.
No. 16 Tennessee suffered an upset at the hands of the Bulldogs, 4-3, at Goodfriend Tennis Center.
James Newton and Jan Kobierski suffered their first loss, 6-2, in doubles to start the evening match en route to Tennessee (9-3, 0-1 SEC) dropping another doubles point to start the match. Mississippi State’s Petar Jovanovic and Benito Sanchez Martinez defeated Alex Kotzen and Alejandro Moreno, 6-4, to seal the point for the Bulldogs.
For the Vols, the doubles loss represents a lingering issue, one that cost them a shot to go to ITA indoor nationals and resurfaced Saturday to start conference play. Shunsuke Mitsui and Alan Jesudason had a 5-4 lead against the Bulldogs’ Niccolo Baroni and Mario Martinez Serrano, but couldn’t finish before Mississippi State grabbed the point.
Tennessee’s lackluster doubles effort carried over into singles initially, where Mississippi State dominated the first set out of the gate. The Vols fought back, however, taking three critical second sets to briefly keep the team in the match.
Baroni and Bryan Hernandez Cortes clinched the next two points for Mississippi State, besting Newton and Jesudason on courts six and four to put the Bulldogs on the brink up 3-0. Martinez Serrano clinched the win for Mississippi State with a 6-2, 5-7, 6-2.
Kotzen came back to force his match into a third set against No. 65 ranked Sanchez Martinez in the tiebreaker and keep Tennessee’s hopes of a comeback match win alive. He went on to best the Bulldogs’ junior, 4-6, 7-6, 6-3. It marked his seventh singles win of the season, moving up to 7-2 on the year.
Mitsui overcame a 5-1 deficit to take the first set 7-6 (7-4) over No. 67 Jovanovic. He clinched the Vols’ first point in the second set, with a 6-2 victory. He remained undefeated on the year for singles at a perfect 9-0.
For all of Tennessee’s struggles, Goodfriend did not lack energy. The 377 Vol fans in attendance marks a record for the stadium and the fans brought energy all night that Lucas said helped fuel the team despite coming up short on the comeback effort.
For a team that has spent the fall and early spring building its cohesion and teamwork on the court, the Vols will continue to be tested as it endures one of the highest strength of schedules in the SEC.
The coaching staff has made sure the team understands how critical conference play is as the Vols look to make another deep run through the NCAA postseason this year, and Tennessee’s upset loss at home could prove to be a difference maker to whether the team makes the tournament or not.
The Vols will have a quick turnaround as they travel south to take on Georgia in Athens at 1 p.m. on Monday.
