{"id":551897,"date":"2026-03-21T20:56:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T20:56:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/551897\/"},"modified":"2026-03-21T20:56:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T20:56:09","slug":"mens-tennis-central-tennessee-vs-20-florida-tsu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/551897\/","title":{"rendered":"Men\u2019s Tennis Central: Tennessee vs. #20 Florida, TSU"},"content":{"rendered":"

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. \u2013 Tennessee men’s tennis closes out its five match homestand at Barksdale Stadium on Sunday with a doubleheader against #20 Florida and Tennessee State.
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\nThe 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.
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\nAdmission 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.
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\nLAST TIME OUT
\nThe 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.
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\nFRESHMAN PHENOM
\nFreshman Shion Itsusaki<\/a> 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<\/a> to take down the No. 28 Arkansas duo of Connor Smillie and Jakub Vrba.
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\nSINGLES SWEEP
\nThe 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.
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\nSCOUTING THE GATORS
\nFlorida 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.
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\nThe 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.
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\nSCOUTING THE TIGERS
\nTennessee 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.
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\nLast 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.
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\nVOLUNTEERS IN THE RANKINGS
\nSingles
\n#106 – Jose Garcia<\/a>
\n#114 – Alejandro Moreno<\/a>
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\nGATORS IN THE RANKINGS
\nSingles
\n#45 – Pablo Perez Ramos
\n#59 – Henry Jefferson
\n#72 – Adhithya Ganesan
\n#91 – Jeremy Jin
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\nDoubles
\n#22 – Henry Jefferson\/Tanapatt Nirundorn
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\nUP NEXT

\nUT 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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\nFor the most up-to-date information about the program, follow Tennessee men’s tennis on Twitter<\/a> and Instagram<\/a> and like us on Facebook<\/a>.
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