Tennessee tennis kicked off its NCAA tournament run with a 4-0 sweep over Alabama State on Saturday.
The No. 14 Vols (20-8, 9-5 SEC) got big performances all over the court en route to a dominant win over the Hornets to advance to the regional final on Sunday against Duke.
Shunsuke Mitsui and Alan Jesudason led the charge for the Vols in doubles action yet again, taking down Alabama State’s David Jeanne Grandinot and Matteo Lataste 6-1 on Court 2 to get things started for Tennessee. The pair picked up their fourth postseason win this year and first of the NCAA tournament.
James Newton and Lance Nisbet once again teamed up on Court 3, this time finding success, taking down Lun Obrul and Gordon Fran Mileusnic 6-1 as well. Tennessee saw its Court 3 pairings snap the six-match losing streak in dominant fashion. It marks the first Court 3 win for the Vols since March 22 at Auburn.
“It’s just perseverance,” head coach Chris Woodruff said. “You’re going to lose, and you just try to do your best if it happens to go out there and prepare for the next one.”
The pair will be a major factor in how far Tennessee will go in the postseason. If Newton and Nisbet can build off the momentum of Saturday’s doubles win, the Vols could be looking at a deep run throughout May.
“Well, it’d be great,” Woodruff said. “The more productivity we get out of three, obviously, the better we’re going to be. We’ll just keep working with them and work on a few things for tomorrow and let the cards fall where they may.”
Alex Kotzen and Alejandro Moreno had a rare unfinished match on Court 1, but were leading Alexandre Verlaguet and Matis Amier 5-3 when Newton and Nisbet clinched the point.
The doubles effort paved the way for a convincing match win that saw the Vols finish off the Hornets in a clean sweep.
Jose Garcia was the first to clinch for Tennessee with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Obrul to start singles action. Garcia picked up his second postseason singles victory and claimed the Vols’ second point of the afternoon.
Cruz continued the momentum with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Eloi Roux on Court 6 to take the third point of the match. His fourth win of the postseason put Tennessee on the edge of winning the match.
“I just think he’s been relentless,” Woodruff said of Cruz. “He came from Belmont, which obviously Tennessee is completely different than Belmont, and he’s made the NCAA Tournament, but this is the first time he’s actually had a competitive chance to make it into the second round.”
From there, Jesudason sealed the win for the Vols with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Amier on Court 4. Kobierski, Mitsui and Kotzen all went unfinished, but were leading their matches. Kobierski held a 1-6, 6-3, 2-1 lead, Mitsui was ahead 6-4, 3-3, while Kotzen was up 6-2, 4-4 on Courts 5, 2, and 1, respectively.
Tennessee will take on No. 17 Duke at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, with a trip to the NCAA Super Regionals on the line. The Vols are 18-11 all-time against the Blue Devils and have won the last five matches in a row.
