Tennessee men’s tennis advanced to the Elite Eight on Saturday, defeating Florida State, 4-3.
The No. 7 seed Vols (25-6) defeated Memphis in a tightly contested match, despite the score, closing out the first week of the NCAA Knoxville Regional with a punched ticket for the Round of 16.
Despite facing more resistance against No. 10 seed Florida State (23-8), the Vols persisted, winning the Round of 16 matchup to advance to the Elite Eight. The win gives Tennessee its third Elite Eight appearance in the last four seasons.
Florida State won nine of their last 11 matches coming into the Super Regional, including eight ranked victories. One of the final contests of the season saw the Seminoles defeating No. 7 Wake Forest and No. 4 Virginia back-to-back, with both wins coming in a tight 4-3 victory.
Florida State’s momentum carried into Saturday’s contest, kicking off the round of doubles. The Seminoles claimed Courts 2 and 3 in the quick span of a few minutes, earning the first point of the day.
No. 77 Shunsuke Mitsui and Filip Pieczonka dropped their doubles contest on Court 2 by a score of 7-5 at the hands of No. 88 Youcef Rihane and Loris Pourroy.
Tennessee’s loss on Court 2 was followed by another loss on Court 3. Vols Filip Apltauer and James Newton were handed a 7-6 loss.
With Tennessee down one, No. 37 Mitsui continued his dominant NCAA Tournament run with a 6-2, 6-2 victory on Court 2 over Florida State’s Pourroy.
Florida State struck back, winning on Court 6. Newton lost in a quick two sets, 6-4, 6-2, pushing the Seminoles back in front with a 2-1 lead.
With a one-point lead, the Seminoles pressed forward, winning on Court 5 to push the lead to 3-1. Joshua Dous-Karpenschif defeated Tennessee’s Apltauer in two sets to but Florida State up two.
Facing elimination, the Vols needed to sweep the remaining three courts in order to survive and advance.
No. 1 Johannus Monday kickstarted the comeback by defeating No. 4 Antoine Cornut-Chauvinc, 6-4, 7-5. The top-four matchup only went two sets as Monday brought the Vols within one.
Pieczonka joined in next at Court 3, turning in a three-set victory over Florida States’ Jamie Connel, winning, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3.
With the overall match even, Angel Diaz had the opportunity to play the role of hero for the Vols.
“I will say this,” Tennessee head coach Chris Woodruff said. “Of all the people in college tennis, I would have him over anyone. He has come through so many matches in that situation, you gotta have faith in the guy. He has been an incredible performer during his time here.”
The match between Diaz and his opponent, Youcef Rihane, needed about every point necessary to decide the victor. Ultimately, Diaz outlasted Rihane during a third-set tiebreak, clinching victory for the Vols.
“I see how hard we work everyday,” Monday said. “I feel confident in that, and I know the guys are going to give their all. Win or lose, that’s all I ask for as a teammate and we did that today.”
The Vols will take on No. 2 seed Texas in the Elite Eight.
