Tennessee men’s tennis is back in action and has seven matches under its belt for the 2024-25 spring season. The new-look Vols return just two starters from last season’s NCAA postseason run, adding nine new faces in the offseason.
In addition to adding new players, head coach Chris Woodruff also added to his coaching staff. Joining the team this season is new associate head coach Matt Lucas from North Florida.
Lucas is coming off a successful run with the Ospreys, collecting an 87-59 record over seven seasons while going 33-9 in conference play as head coach.
Lucas is coming off his second undefeated season in conference play and has 16 wins in two of his last three seasons. He brings an abundance of knowledge to the Vols’ program.
Senior Shunsuke Mitsui and sophomore James Newton are the only familiar faces for Tennessee this season. The Vols also landed the top-ranked high school player in the state of Tennessee in Woodson McMillin.
Mitsui and Newton will step into larger leadership roles this season, as their experience is much needed for a team that has brought in nine newcomers via the transfer portal and incoming freshmen.
“The thing about Shunsuke is you know what you’re going to get every day,” Lucas said. “There’s no highs or lows, he’s just a steady guy and you know what you’re going to get. He’s one of the best players in college tennis and we’re lucky to have him.”
The Vols also inked Jose Garcia, giving them three Knoxville natives on the roster. Garcia and McMillin highlight the incoming freshman class for Tennessee which also landed four transfers this offseason.
Garcia clinched a point during Tennessee’s ITA Kickoff Weekend win over Illinois. The freshman is 5-2 in singles play so far with the only losses coming at the hands of No. 115-ranked Ioannis Xilas of Wake Forest and unranked Will Cooksey of Michigan.
The Vols’ transfer class is comprised of four players from various backgrounds. Ian Cruz comes by way of the midstate, transferring from Belmont. Alan Jesudason earned CAA first-team honors during his time at Drexel.
Alex Kotzen is in his graduate season with Tennessee, making his way over after a successful stint in the Ivy League with Columbia. The lone power-conference transfer comes from Auburn transfer, Alejandro Moreno.
“We got some guys, and we need them to continue to get better.” Lucas said. “The more matches they get, the more they’ll continue to improve. Our goal is to be playing our best tennis in May when it really matters.”
Moreno entered this season ranked 56th overall nationally for singles, while Kotzen clocked in at 34th and the veteran Mitsui at 18th.
Kotzen and Moreno have played key roles in the Vols’ wins early this season, going a combined 3-2 in singles to start the year with wins over No. 98 ranked Karim Al-Amin of Middle Tennessee, No. 14 ranked Kenta Miyoshi of Illinois and unranked Zach Viiala, also of Illinois.
“Alex beat a really good player on Court 1, that’s what Alex does,” Lucas said. “He’s one of the top players in the country. And so we expect that of him, and that’s the expectation from him.”
Kotzen has established himself as one of the more experienced players on the team so far. The graduate transfer has stepped up in big moments early this season, gaining the trust of his coaches.
Meanwhile, Moreno went 20-9 combined this fall season and has 33 career singles wins in his previous two seasons at Auburn. He also went 26-22 in doubles there and his rank of 56th for singles is the highest mark of his career.
As for the other newcomers, Cruz went 16-3 in singles with Belmont last season and added another 11 wins in doubles with the Bruins, and Jesudason won 18 matches total at Drexel, going 13-11 in singles.
With the indoor season coming to an end, the Vols are already looking forward to their next major goal.
SEC play begins on Feb. 21, with the Vols hosting Mississippi State at Barksdale Stadium at 5 p.m. EST.
