Men’s Tennis Central: Tennessee vs. #20 Florida, TSU

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee men's tennis closes out its five match homestand at Barksdale Stadium on Sunday with a doubleheader against #20 Florida and Tennessee State.

The Big Orange will begin the doubleheader playing the Gators at 11 a.m. and will close out the day competing against the Tigers at 4 p.m.

Admission is free, and tennis parking will be available on West Volunteer Boulevard and at the top of the CI7/NC7 garage located next to Barksdale Stadium.

LAST TIME OUT
The Vols came up just short against Arkansas on March 13, dropping a close contest, 4-3. UT responded on March 15, however, sweeping a doubleheader against Alabama, 4-3, and Mercer, 4-0. The win against the Crimson Tide marked the first conference win for Tennessee in 2025-26.

FRESHMAN PHENOM
Freshman Shion Itsusaki showed last weekend why he was a highly-touted recruit in last year's class. Itsusaki went undefeated last weekend in the three-match homestand, registering conference wins against Arkansas and Alabama. The Osaka, Japan, native picked up his first ranked doubles win, as well, joining partner Ethan Muza to take down the No. 28 Arkansas duo of Connor Smillie and Jakub Vrba.

SINGLES SWEEP
The Vols have displayed strong individual play, sweeping singles matches three times in the past three non-conference matches. The sweep Sunday night was the fifth time this season the Big Orange have not lost on a singles court in 2025-26, shutting out Bellarmine, EKU, Chattanooga, Belmont and Mercer.

SCOUTING THE GATORS
Florida men's tennis has struggled to find consistency, compiling a 9-9 record entering the weekend. The Gators have earned quality ranked wins over No. 23 Kentucky, No. 13 Columbia and No. 16 Clemson. Conference play has been a struggle for UF, though, with the Gators tallying a 2-5 record heading into week five of SEC action.

The Volunteers go into the contest Sunday on a four-match win streak in the series against Florida. Tennessee bested the Gators last year, 4-3, in Gainesville on April 5 to extend its run.

SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Tennessee State picked up its first win of the dual season last week, taking down Xavier, 4-3, at home. That win snapped a nine-match losing streak the Tigers had been on since the start of the season.

Last year marked the first time the Tigers and Vols met in men's tennis. The Vols tallied two 7-0 wins against TSU in a doubleheader played on Feb. 15, 2025, making Tennessee 2-0 against Tennessee State in the brief all-time series.

VOLUNTEERS IN THE RANKINGS
Singles
#106 - Jose Garcia
#114 - Alejandro Moreno

GATORS IN THE RANKINGS
Singles
#45 - Pablo Perez Ramos
#59 - Henry Jefferson
#72 - Adhithya Ganesan
#91 - Jeremy Jin

Doubles
#22 - Henry Jefferson/Tanapatt Nirundorn

UP NEXT
UT will head to the Lone Star State to split a weekend matchup between Texas and Texas A&M, taking on the Longhorns on March 27 at 6 p.m. CT in Austin and the Aggies on March 29 at 1 p.m. CT in College Station.

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Men’s Tennis Central: Tennessee vs. #20 Florida, TSU

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Players Mentioned

Jose Garcia

Shion Itsusaki

Alejandro Moreno

Ethan Muza

University of Tennessee Athletics