Tennessee tennis fell to Michigan 4-1, winning the championship match of ITA Kickoff Weekend. The Wolverines punched their ticket to Indoor National Championships despite a late pushback by the Vols.
The No. 14 Vols (4-2) were expected to get the win at home, but the No. 25 Wolverines (3-0) had enough in them to handily win the match.
Here are some takeaways from the loss.
Struggles continue in doubles
Tennessee came out flat in doubles for a third straight match and was unable to pick up momentum. It was a particularly rough showing for Alejandro Moreno and James Newton, as they fell, 6-2 for their second loss of the year.
Alan Jesudason and Jan Kobierski put up a better fight and were tied at 2 games each early. Despite the solid start, they were dominated from then on, winning just one more point en route to a 6-3 loss.
Shunsuke Mitsui and Alex Kotzen didn’t get a chance to finish their match, since the Wolverines claimed the doubles point already. They were the most impressive pair of the day and were the only team to lead at any point in their match. They had a 3-2 advantage at one point, but the score was 5-3 for Michigan when the point was called
Mitsui dominant in singles
No. 18 Mitsui secured the first and only win of the day for the Vols. He seemed to be healthy after suffering an elbow and knee injury yesterday, playing without a wrap. He fought and was able to pull off a win in straight sets.
Mitsui fought back and forth with Bjorn Swenson through the first set but pulled away, winning 7-5. He looked untouchable in the second set, cruising to a 6-0 win to get the Vols on the board.
Kotzen suffers heavy defeat
Kotzen went down to Michigan’s Benjamin Kittay, losing in straight sets. After a spectacular outing against Illinois, he was unable to carry the momentum over, falling behind 4-1 in the first set. Although he was able to pry two games away from Kittay, he was unable to make anything of it, losing, 6-3.
He fared better in the second set, but could not draw even, losing 6-4 for Michigan’s first singles win of the day.
Moreno falls just short
Moreno fell just short of a heroic comeback, losing in the tiebreaker of the third set. He lost the first set, 6-,3 but put up an excellent effort in the second set, winning 7-6 in a tiebreak.
Moreno was faced with a deficit throughout the third set, at one point being down 5-2 to Nicholas Steiglehner, but forced another tiebreak. Despite the valiant effort, he lost, 7-2, to secure the victory for Michigan.
