It was a tough weekend in the SEC Tennis Championships for the 6th ranked Vols and 17th ranked Lady Vols as both exited in their semifinal matchups. But, both team have had successful seasons and should be seeded in the NCAA Championships when those brackets are announced later this month.
For the second seeded Vols, 22-6 on the season, it was a bitter pill to swallow as they lost to the eleven seed, 24th ranked, South Carolina. The Vols had shut out the GameCocks 4-0 in March. South Carolina was ready for the rematch taking the doubles point and three singles matches to top the Vols 4-2. As usual, Johannus Monday was solid for the Vols taking his one line match in straight sets to run his record to 26-2 on the season. The All-American has posted a stellar career record in singles play of 103-24 while going 88-32 in doubles. The lefty will get a shot at more success as a Vol in both the NCAA team and individual championships. While the Vols didn’t accomplish what they wanted in the SEC Championship, they can re-group and be ready for the upcoming NCAA Championship.
The fourth seeded Lady Vols ran into a tough matchup against top seed UGA on their home courts as UGA is hosting the women’s tourney in Athens. UGA was dominant in shutting out the Lady Vols 4-0. The Lady Vols will carry an 18-7 record into the NCAA Championship behind senior Sofia Cabezas and junior Elza Tomase.
The NCAA will release the team brackets on April 29th. In addition to the team competition, both Vols and Lady Vols should be well represented in the individual competition for NCAA titles.
