KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The seventh-seeded Tennessee men’s tennis team advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals with a 4-3 comeback win over No. 10 Florida State on Saturday afternoon at Barksdale Stadium.
Tennessee (25-6) moves on to the NCAA Elite Eight for the 12th time in program history, doing so three times in the last five years.
After narrowly dropping the doubles point to FSU (23-8), No. 37 Shunsuke Mitsui was quick to put UT’s first singles win on the board, routing Loris Pourroy, 6-2, 6-2, on court two. The Seminoles gained an early 3-1 advantage with wins on courts six and five.
The Vols began to chip away at Florida State’s lead, sparked by top-ranked Johannus Monday’s 6-4, 7-5 victory over No. 4 Antoine Cornut-Chauvinc atop the lineup, posting his highest-ranked win of the 2024 season and second-highest of his career. Filip Pieczonka cranked out a three-set triumph over Jaime Connel, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, on court three to tie the score at 3-all.
Angel Diaz battled Youcef Rihane at the No. 4 spot, dropping his first set in a tiebreaker 6-7(7), then rebounding to take his second set, 6-4. The two exchanged points in the third set, resulting in a tiebreaker at 6-all. The graduate fought to win 7-5 to send Tennessee to the Elite Eight.
“I have a lot of faith in Angel,” said head coach Chris Woodruff. He’s been an incredible performer during his time here.”
HOME SWEET HOME TO ME
The Vols finished the 2024 season with a perfect 18-0 record at home, doing so in only five seasons since 2000.
VAMOS DIAZ!
Diaz holds a 16-7 singles record in dual match play this season and a 64-29 career mark. He boasts a 12-4 record at the No. 4 spot as a Vol. Additionally, the graduate is one singles victory away from eclipsing 100 career wins.
