By Stephen Mason
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — After dropping three consecutive matches, the Tennessee men’s tennis team righted the ship, going undefeated in today’s doubleheader at the Goodfriend Tennis Center. After dominating Bellarmine 7-0 in the afternoon, the Vols defeated Eastern Kentucky 7-0 in the evening session.
The Vols kicked off 2026 with two wins over in-state rival East Tennessee State University; however, it has been a struggle since, as they faced three top-15 teams in a row. On Jan. 18, in a match against No. 1 Wake Forest, the Vols fell 4-1. The road did not get any easier as they were shut out by No. 3 TCU, 4-0, one day later. The team then fell to No. 11 Texas A&M on Jan. 23, 4-1.
One bright spot during the three-game stumble was the duo of Dragos Cazacu and Piotr Siekanowicz, who picked up two wins in doubles play against TCU and Texas A&M. While Cazacu was not available for either of today’s matches, Siekanowicz and his doubles partner, Alejandro Moreno, went undefeated.
Head coach Chris Woodruff made other moves with his doubles lineup, splitting up Boruch Skierkier and Jose Garcia, who have struggled this year. Garcia and his new partner, Shion Itsusaki, won both their matches today. While Skierkier and Ethan Muza were unable to complete a doubles match, they led both—5-1 against Bellarmine and 5-2 against Eastern Kentucky—when doubles play concluded.
After gaining momentum by winning the doubles points in both matches, the Vols remained perfect throughout singles play. Freshman Itsusaki dominated his match against Bellarmine’s Colby Berson, 6-2, 6-0. He followed it up with another stellar performance against Eastern Kentucky’s Kartik Parhar, winning 6-2, 6-1.
In contrast, sophomore Jan Kobierski was tested in both matches. He defeated Sebastian Baumann 7-5, 6-2 in the first match of the day. Against Adrian Contreas of Eastern Kentucky, he dropped the first set 6-3, won the second 6-1, and took the tiebreaker 10-8.
The two wins put the team above .500 for the season with a 4-3 record. However, the Vols will not enjoy home-court advantage for long as they embark on an extended road trip.
Starting with a match at Michigan State this Friday, the Vols will stay in the Wolverine State for a match at the University of Michigan on Sunday. This will be followed by the ITA National Indoor Tournament, which will be played Feb. 13-17. The team will then kick off Southeastern Conference play at Kentucky and Vanderbilt before its SEC home opener against Auburn on Feb. 27.
While Bellarmine and Eastern Kentucky are no powerhouses, today’s matches came at an opportune time for the Vols. After what will most likely be the most brutal stretch of their schedule, the team had the chance to reset before embarking on an extended road trip.