As May draws closer, seniors prepare to say their goodbyes and arrange their futures. Intense emotions accompany such occasions, and they can range from the excitement of a new chapter to the sadness of leaving tremendous friendships behind.

Alejandro Moreno finds himself amid this precise situation.

The senior, who has called Knoxville home since December 2018 — with a brief two-season stint at Auburn — is set to take the court for the last time at Barksdale Tennis Stadium on Sunday versus South Carolina, and he acknowledges feeling “two emotions on both ends of the spectrum.”

“I’m just very excited to start my pro career, but at the same time I’m super sad because I’m leaving my teammates behind, this great program and these great coaches behind,” Moreno said.

Associate head coach Matt Lucas, whom he has grown quite close to, very much understands what his seniors will be feeling and what such an occasion represents.

“I remember my senior day at NC State, and it’s a lot of blood, sweat and tears that these guys have put into it, and this is kind of the culmination of all of that,” Lucas said. “It’s a day that, you know, 20 years later I still remember.”

While Moreno has spent just two seasons with the program, having transferred in as a junior prior to the 2024-25 season, Lucas said he “embodies” what it means to be a Volunteer.

“He busts his tail every day, he doesn’t complain, he loves the university, he loves our athletic department, he loves his teammates, and so that’s kinda what we look for from everyone,” Lucas said.

Despite the team staring at a last-place finish in the conference, Moreno has maintained his perspective and focused on “the day-to-day.”

“I feel like if you get really caught up on results, it can just eat you from the inside, you know?” Moreno said. “If you’re focusing on results, you know, let’s say you get a good result. Now you’re gonna focus on the next one, and then the next one, the next one. And you’re almost never gonna be happy, you’re never gonna be content, and I don’t think that’s a very healthy way of living, and not even in tennis, in life in general.”

The senior faced a new challenge this spring, as he was pressed into duty atop the lineup with the graduation of top players like Shunsuke Mitsui and Alex Kotzen at last season’s end, and such responsibilities come with their own set of pressures.

“It’s a lot more stressful up there,” Lucas said. “You don’t get time off, right? You can’t have mental lapses playing at line one or line two with the schedule that we play, conference and non-conference. I think that was an adjustment phase for him. I think there’s plenty of matches this year he’s been in really good positions to win, and maybe a slight loss of focus for a game or two, and then all of a sudden, the match turns.”

Moreno faced this harsh reality on the road versus Arkansas. One moment, he had the entire match on his racket. Next, he and the team took a “brutal loss.”

“That one was brutal because, obviously, you have a match point and you want to win for yourself, but at the same time, you also want to win for the team,” Moreno said. “So it’s almost like a double whammy.”

While the results haven’t come for the senior — he sits at 0-4 in conference play — he has kept fighting.

“It would have been very easy after he lost a lot of leads, kinda early part of the SEC season to the middle part of the SEC season to kinda pack it in, but he hasn’t done that, and he’s played really well lately,” Lucas said.

“If you’re a Tennessee Vol, no matter what your level is, or if you’re a student athlete, or not, it just means you gotta give your all in whatever you do,” Moreno said.

Part of his positive attitude this season stems from the culture of the team and his own personality.

“When we’re together, we’re always messing around with each other, crack jokes, trying to get each other to laugh,” Moreno said. “If we had a camera following us around, and we could stream it on a platform where you can use some words that you’re not allowed to use on an interview or you’re in a classroom, and those types of environments, I think we’d go viral, honestly.”

Such a lax nature hasn’t always been present this season. While Lucas said he’s easy to “poke and prod and mess around with,” he also said Moreno put pressure on himself “to be that stalwart number one.”

“I think he put some expectations on himself, especially after he beat Wake’s number one early in the year,” Lucas said. “I think he’s back to who he was, and it’s just nice to see that, and hopefully he can go out on a high note on Sunday.”

As the sun sets on Moreno’s career, he will depart the program a “better player,” and a “better human being,” Lucas said.

“I think he’s grown up a lot, starting to become a young man,” Lucas said.

Much of this growth stems from the bond he has cultivated with coach Lucas, who joined Tennessee in his current capacity shortly after Moreno came home.

“We have a tremendous relationship,” Lucas said. “It’s more like big brother, little brother sometimes. Big brother always wins.”

When he arrived from Auburn, Moreno said he was going through a “rough time.” But the coaches invested into him, not just as a player, but as a person from day one, he said. The result? He achieved a career-best ranking of 56 back in February, and he said he’s hitting his forehand “the best he’s ever hit it.”

When Moreno takes the courts at Barksdale Tennis Stadium one last time on Sunday, he will feel the duality of the emotions that come with the end of a collegiate career. But amid those sentiments, gratitude remains present.

“I’m just grateful for the opportunity that I was given to come here to represent the school, myself, my family, my coaches, my friends, and just represent them in the way I’ve represented them,” Moreno said.