Tennessee Completes Comeback to Defeat Duke in Second Round of NCAA Championship

Sunday, May 4

Knoxville, TN

1:00 PM

Duke University

Tennessee

Tennessee Completes Comeback to Defeat Duke in Second Round of NCAA Championship

5/4/2025 5:39:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The 17th-ranked Duke men's tennis team fell to No. 14 Tennessee, 4-3, in the second round of the NCAA Championship Sunday at Barksdale Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn.

At the top spot, Tennessee's Alex Kotzen rallied from a 5-1 deficit in the third set, winning six straight games to defeat Duke's junior Pedro Rodenas in three sets and clinch the team victory for the Volunteers.

Duke finishes the season with a 19-9 mark, while the Volunteers improve to 22-8.

How It Happened

The Blue Devils won the doubles point, taking the 1-0 lead to start the match.
At the second spot, the Blue Devils' No. 62 pairing of Rodenas and graduate Andreja Petrovic defeated Shunsuke Mitsui and Alan Jesudason, 6-2. The Duke duo jumped out to a 3-1 lead, allowed the Vols one more game and then closed by winning three straight games.
On court one, the seventh-ranked Duke duo of sophomore Cooper Williams and graduate Theo Winegar won 6-3 against Tennessee's ninth-ranked duo of Kotzen and Alejandro Moreno. The Blue Devils earned a 3-1 lead and won three of the next five games to clinch their match.
At the third position, No. 90 junior Gerard Planelles Ripoll and graduate Remy Dugardin's match remained unfinished at 4-4.
Duke took the 2-0 advantage, as Dugardin defeated Jose Garcia in straight sets at the fourth spot. Dugardin was dominant in the first set, posting a 6-0 triumph. In set two, Dugardin only allowed Garcia to earn one game to clinch his match with a 6-1 win.
The Blue Devils pushed their lead, 3-0, with a two-set win posted by Petrovic over Moreno on court three. Petrovic had the 5-2 lead in set one before Moreno went on a two-game run, but Petrovic won another game to secure the 6-4 win. Set two was tied up four times before Petrovic earned two straight games to push past a 5-5 lockup to secure his match.
Tennessee got on the scoreboard as 29th-ranked Mitsui earned a three-set win over 47th-ranked Williams at the second position. Williams earned the dominant 6-1 victory in the first set. However, Mitsui earned the second set with a 7-5 win and clinched the match with a 6-2 victory in the third.
The Vols decreased Duke's lead to 3-2, as Ian Cruz posted a three-set win over freshman Saahith Jayaraman at the sixth position. Jayaraman won the first set 6-3, claiming three of the last four games. Cruz earned a 6-4 win in the second set and secured the match with a 6-3 triumph in the third set.
Tennessee tied the match, 3-3, as senior Connor Krug fell to Jan Kobierski in three sets on court five. Kobierski had the 4-1 lead in set one before Krug went on a three-game run to tie the set at 4-4. However, Kobierski closed out the match by winning three of the next four games, 7-5. Krug responded in the second set, only allowing Kobierski to earn two games, posting a 6-2 triumph. Kobierski came out on top in the back-and-forth final set in the breaker, 7-6(3).
No. 23 Kotzen completed Tennessee's 4-3 comeback with a three-set victory at the top spot over No. 25 Rodenas. Kotzen jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the opening set before Rodenas rallied with four straight games to tie it at 5-5, but Kotzen responded by winning the next two games. Rodenas bounced back to take the second set and force a decider, 7-6(3). In the final frame, Rodenas built a 5-1 lead, but Kotzen surged back with six consecutive games to clinch the match and seal the win for the Vols.

Results
Doubles (2,1)

#7 Cooper Williams/ Theo Winegar (DU) def. #9 Alex Kotzen/ Alejandro Moreno (TENN) 6-3
#62 Andreja Petrovic/ Pedro Rodenas (DU) def. Shunsuke Mitsui/ Alan Jesudason (TENN) 6-2
#90 Gerard Planelles Ripoll/ Remy Dugardin (DU) vs. Jose Garcia/ Lance Nisbet (TENN) 4-4, unfinished