Texas Tech Athletics
Tennessee
Red Raiders face No. 6 Tennessee, Charlotte in spring opener
January 08, 2023 | Men's Tennis
LUBBOCK, Texas – The Texas Tech men's tennis team opens its season against the No. 6 team in the country in the Tennessee Volunteers on Monday, January 9 at 3 p.m. in Knoxville, Tenn. Then, the Red Raiders take on the Charlotte 49ers the following day on January 10 at 12 p.m., also in Knoxville.
The Red Raiders competed in three tournaments this fall. Sophomore Sebastian Abboud led the team with three singles wins, while sophomore Tyler Stewart and junior Olle Wallin were right behind with a couple wins apiece. Abboud, Stewart and Isaac Arevalo also led the squad with two doubles victories in the fall.
Last year, the Red Raiders compiled a 14-12 overall record with a 2-3 Big 12 record. Tech also made an NCAA Tournament appearance against Auburn and recorded wins over No. 34 Oklahoma and No. 44 Oklahoma State at the end of the regular season.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
The Tennessee Volunteers come into the match ranked sixth in the country. Last year, the Vols made it to their second-straight NCAA Tournament Semifinals before losing to eventual champions, Virginia. They went 28-6 overall and 8-4 in the SEC. The Vols return almost their entire starting singles lineup, while also adding Florida transfer, Blaise Bicknell, who went undefeated in singles during his sophomore year with the Gators. Tennessee will face Charlotte first on January 8 before taking on the Red Raiders.
The Charlotte 49ers went an impressive 17-7 last season, including a victory over ranked teams in Liberty, UTSA, Old Dominion and ETSU. Going 3-0 in Conference USA during the regular season, the 49ers were able to make it to the C-USA Tournament finals where they loss in a heartbreaker, 4-3, to No. 18 Middle Tennessee. Charlotte returns four players from last year's team: Vasco Prata, Coy Simon, Luke Thomson and Abhimanyu Vannemreddy, who all went a combined 56-34 in singles in the 2021-22 season.
FOLLOW ALONG
Both matches will have live stats available here. Follow the @TexasTechMTEN Twitter account for updates on the matches.
Players Mentioned
