Tennessee men’s tennis lost to No. 24 Ole Miss, 4-0, in a closely contested match on April 4 at the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center in Oxford, Mississippi.
The outcome was decided after several singles matches went to three sets, showing a competitive effort from both teams. The result impacts Tennessee’s record as the team approaches the end of its dual season.
Ole Miss started strong by taking control of doubles play, winning on court three with a 6-0 score and then clinching the doubles point on court two. Although Tennessee fought back on courts one and two during doubles, they could not secure a win before Ole Miss pulled away.
In singles competition, both teams split first-set victories across six courts. Piotr Siekanowicz secured an early lead for Tennessee with a tight first set win (7-5) against Benjamin Martin. Ethan Muza and Alejandro Moreno also won their opening sets for Tennessee. However, Ole Miss extended its lead with Vlado Jankanj defeating Shion Itsusaki (6-3, 6-3) on court four. Subsequent matches saw more third-set battles before Ole Miss ultimately clinched victory on court six.
Tennessee’s Boruch Skierkier managed to force his second set into a tiebreaker and came back from behind but did not finish as the overall match was decided elsewhere.
Looking ahead, Tennessee will host South Carolina for Senior Day at Barksdale Stadium on April 12 at noon Eastern Time. The program will recognize seniors Alejandro Moreno, Ethan Muza and Boruch Skierkier.
