Tennessee Volunteers men's tennis

Tennessee Volunteers tennis
Founded1932
UniversityUniversity of Tennessee
Athletic directorDanny White
Head coachChris Woodruff (7th season)
ConferenceSEC
LocationKnoxville, TN
Home CourtBarksdale Stadium
(Capacity: 2,000)
NicknameVolunteers
ColorsOrange and white[1]
   
NCAA Tournament runner-up
1990, 2001, 2010
NCAA Tournament Semifinals
1987, 1990, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2010, 2021, 2022
NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals
1987, 1990, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2021, 2022, 2024
NCAA Tournament Round of 16
1979, 1980, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1993, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
NCAA Tournament Round of 32
1989, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
NCAA Tournament appearances
1979, 1980, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Conference Tournament championships
1990, 2002, 2010, 2021
Conference regular season champions
1951, 1966, 1970, 1980, 1986, 1990, 2000, 2010, 2011

The Tennessee Volunteer men's tennis team represents the University of Tennessee, in Knoxville, TN. The program has appeared in 31 NCAA Tournaments. Additionally, the Vols have won 9 SEC Championships, 4 SEC Tournaments, and finished as national runner-up three times. Prominent ATP players who came to Tennessee include Tennys Sandgren, John-Patrick Smith, Chris Woodruff, Paul Annacone, Michael Fancutt, and Mike De Palmer.

History

Sam Winterbotham era

Sam Winterbotham was formerly the head coach of the Colorado Buffaloes men's tennis team from 2002–2006. After the 2006 season Colorado cut the men's tennis team due to budget constrains, and Winterbotham was subsequently named the 10th coach in Tennessee tennis history on October 24, 2006.

He and his assistant Chris Woodruff joined forces when Tennessee was ranked No. 48 nationally, but the Vols quickly vaulted up the charts. From 2007-2015 Winterbotham led Tennessee to nine consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, including six appearances in the NCAA Round of 16, three appearances in the NCAA Quarterfinals, and one national championship appearance where they lost in a close match to USC 4-2.[2]

Winterbotham became the first head coach at Tennessee to win consecutive SEC regular season championships in 2010 and 2011. In 2010, the Vols finished 11–0 in Southeastern Conference and went on to become the first team to capture the SEC Tournament Title courtesy of three 4–0 shutouts. Three players—John-Patrick Smith, Rhyne Williams and Davey Sandgren—earned All-America honors. For the first time in Tennessee history, five Vols were named All-SEC. Five players also finished the year in the national ITA rankings.

In terms of sheer number of victories, from 2008 to 2011 the team wrapped up their most successful three-year period in program history with a 101–18 (.849) record, and year-end Top 19 rankings each season. The Vols went 31-2 in 2010, won 23 matches in 2008 and 2009, and claimed 24 wins in 2011.

In 2014 Winterbotham coached doubles pair Mikelis Libietis and Hunter Reese all the way to the 2014 NCAA doubles title. After 11 years of coaching UT, as well as a 217-104 match record, Sam Winterbotham was fired on May 4, 2017 at the conclusion of the 2017 season. The Vols had struggled and missed the NCAA Tournament for two consecutive years in 2016 and 2017. In Winterbothams last two years at Tennessee he had a combined 25-31 record and the Vols were 3-21 in SEC play.[3]

The Tennessee Vols tennis team finishing a match at Barksdale Stadium

Chris Woodruff era

Winterbotham was replaced by long term assistant and former NCAA Singles Champion at Tennessee Chris Woodruff. In Woodruff's first season as head coach he led the Vols to a 21-9 record and 4th place in the SEC regular season standings with an 8-4 conference record. Tennessee made the semifinals of the SEC tournament losing to Texas A&M 4-0. The Vols returned to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2015 beating UNC Wilmington 4-0 in the first round before losing to North Carolina 4-0 in the NCAA round of 32.

In the 2019 season, Woodruff led Tennessee to the SEC title game, where they fell to #6 ranked Mississippi State. As the NCAA Tournament’s #14 seed, Tennessee fell in NCAA round of 16 to #3 seed Florida. They ended the season with a 22-8 overall record, and an 8-4 record in-conference.

Tennessee was ranked #19, with a 14-2 record, when the 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the 2021 season, Tennessee defeated #13 Ole Miss, #12 South Carolina, and #1 ranked Florida in consecutive days to win their first SEC Tournament since 2010, and entered the NCAA tournament as the #3 overall seed with a 24-3 record, and a 10-2 conference record. In the NCAA Tournament, the Vols beat Alabama A&M 5-0 and Memphis 4-0 in the round of 64 and 32. At the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Tennessee went on to defeat Arizona 4-3 in the NCAA round of 16, and #11 Georgia in the Elite 8. The team season ended with a 4-2 loss to #2 Baylor in the final four, concluding the year with a 28-4 record. One week later, Tennessee players Patrick Harper and Adam Walton won the NCAA individual doubles championship for the program's first individual title since 2014.[4]

The Volunteers continued their run as a national power in the 2022 season, where they defeated #12 Texas A&M, #13 South Carolina, and #3 Baylor to advance to the ITA Indoor Championship. Despite losing to #4 TCU in the finals, Tennessee returned to the #1 overall ranking which they maintained for several weeks. Despite struggling down the stretch and finishing 5th in the SEC with a conference record of 8-4, Tennessee made the semifinals of the SEC tournament and entered the NCAA tournament as the #6 overall seed. Hosting the first three rounds, the Vols defeated Tennessee Tech, Duke, and Florida State to advance to the NCAA final site destination hosted by Illinois. In the Elite 8, Tennessee got revenge from the previous season against #3 Baylor by winning 4-3, sending the Vols to the Final Four for the second consecutive season. There, eventual national champion and #7 seed Virginia ended the teams hope for their first national title. Tennessee finished with a final record of 26-8.[5]

2023 saw the Vols return to the ITA Indoor Championships for the 3rd consecutive year, where they lost 4-3 in a re-match of the 2022 NCAA semifinals with #5 Virginia before defeating #17 Stanford and Illinois in consolation rounds. In other notable non-conference matches, Tennessee lost to #5 Michigan Wolverines(4-1), and #14 Wake Forest (4-3), but defeated #9 Columbia (4-1). The Vols recorded ranked SEC wins over #12 Mississippi State (5-2), #4 Kentucky (4-0), #20 Florida (4-3), #5 South Carolina (6-1), and #25 Ole Miss (6-1). A pair of narrow 4-3 loses to #14 Auburn and #10 Georgia, put Tennessee at 2nd in the SEC with a 10-2 conference record. In the SEC Tournament, the second seeded Volunteers beat No. 7 seed Ole Miss, before falling in the semifinals to the No. 3 seed and eventual tournament champion, #5 Kentucky 4-3. The Vols were selected as a regional host site for the 4th year in a row, defeating Belmont and Wake Forest to advance to the Super Regionals. At the Knoxville Super Regional, the season came to an end with a close 4-2 loss to the No. 9 seed South Carolina.[6]

Head coaches

Source[7]

# Coach Years Seasons Overall Conference SEC

Titles

NCAA

Appearances

Won Lost % Won Lost %
1 Hugh D. Faust 1932-1942 11 68 38 .640 4 23 .148
2 Jack Rogers 1947 1 5 2 .714 0 2 .000
3 W.D. Buchanan 1948-1960 12 95 72 .568 43 49 .467 1
4 James Kalshoven 1961 1 8 6 .571 1 4 .200
5 Duane Bruley 1962 1 7 7 .500 0 5 .000
6 Tommy Barlett 1963-1966 4 54 11 .831 19 5 .791 1
7 Earl Baumgardner 1967 1 13 4 .765 5 2 .714
8 Louis Royal 1968-1976 9 121 68 .639 37 24 .606 1
9 John Newman 1977-1980 4 51 31 .622 19 10 .655 1 2
10 Mike DePalmer Sr. 1981-1994 14 299 119 .715 97 55 .638 3 6
11 John Kreis 1995-1997 3 35 37 .486 12 26 .316 2
12 Michael Fancutt 1998-2004 7 123 57 .683 46 31 .597 2 6
13 Chris Mahony 2005-2006 2 25 20 .556 9 13 .409 1
14 Sam Winterbotham 2007-2017 11 217 104 .676 217 104 .571 3 9
15 Chris Woodruff 2018-pres. 5 134 39 .775 46 17 .730 1 5
Total 86 1255 615 .671 555 370 .598 13 31


Yearly record

Source[7]

Season Coach Record Conference
standing
Conference
tournament
ITA
rank
Postseason
Overall Conference
Southeastern Conference
1932 Hugh D. Faust 5-1
1933 Hugh D. Faust 6-2 0-1
1934 Hugh D. Faust 4-5 0-4
1935 Hugh D. Faust 6-3
1936 Hugh D. Faust 5-7 0-4
1937 Hugh D. Faust 6-5 1-3
1938 Hugh D. Faust 4-6-1 1-3
1939 Hugh D. Faust 6-4 0-3
1940 Hugh D. Faust 7-4 0-3
1941 Hugh D. Faust 8-6 0-2
1942 Hugh D. Faust 10-0 2-0
1943-1946 No Team
1947 Jack Rogers 5-2 0-2
1948 W.D. Buchanan 5-5 2-3
1949 W.D. Buchanan 1-9 0-5
1950 W.D. Buchanan 10-4 6-3 T-2nd
1951 W.D. Buchanan 10-0-1 6-0 Champions
1952 W.D. Buchanan 11-0 8-0 2nd
1953 W.D. Buchanan 11-3 6-3 T-4th
1954 W.D. Buchanan 4-6-1 1-5-1 6th
1955 W.D. Buchanan 8-6 3-5 6th
1956 W.D. Buchanan 4-9 2-6 8th
1957 W.D. Buchanan 5-7 1-6 7th
1958 W.D. Buchanan 9-9 2-5 8th
1959 W.D. Buchanan 9-6 2-5 8th
1960 W.D. Buchanan 8-8 4-4 6th
1961 James Kalshoven 8-6 1-4
1962 Duane Bruley 7-7 0-5 10th
1963 Tommy Bartlett 10-5 2-4 10th
1964 Tommy Bartlett 13-1 3-0 8th
1965 Tommy Bartlett 15-3 7-1 4th
1966 Tommy Bartlett 16-2 7-0 Champions
1967 Earl Baumgardner 13-4 5-2 2nd
1968 Louis Royal 12-7-1 3-3-1 4th
1969 Louis Royal 6-8 3-2 5th
1970 Louis Royal 14-7 4-1 Champions
1971 Louis Royal 14-7-1 5-4 2nd
1972 Louis Royal 27-2 5-1 T-2nd
1973 Louis Royal 10-9 3-2 5th
1974 Louis Royal 17-6 6-2 2nd
1975 Louis Royal 14-12 5-4 3rd
1976 Louis Royal 6-10 3-5 7th
1977 John Newman 9-12 3-6 6th
1978 John Newman 18-7 6-3 2nd
1979 John Newman 13-6 4-1 2nd NCAA Round of 16
1980 John Newman 14-6 6-0 Champions NCAA Round of 16
1981 Mike DePalmer Sr. 14-6 6-2 4th
1982 Mike DePalmer Sr. 21-9 10-1 2nd
1983 Mike DePalmer Sr. 20-4 12-7 3rd
1984 Mike DePalmer Sr. 23-8 6-2 4th
1985 Mike DePalmer Sr. 27-11 7-2 3rd
1986 Mike DePalmer Sr. 24-10 3-6 Champions 14th
1987 Mike DePalmer Sr. 24-6 7-2 2nd 3rd NCAA Semifinal
1988 Mike DePalmer Sr. 14-11 6-3 4th 13th NCAA Round of 16
1989 Mike DePalmer Sr. 20-8 6-3 10th 14th NCAA First Round
1990 Mike DePalmer Sr. 34-1 9-0 Champions Champions 2nd NCAA Runner-up
1991 Mike DePalmer Sr. 21-11 7-4 T-3rd First Round 10th NCAA Round of 16
1992 Mike DePalmer Sr. 15-13 4-9 T-8th Quarterfinal 18th
1993 Mike DePalmer Sr. 27-11 7-7 6th Semifinal 11th NCAA Round of 16
1994 Mike DePalmer Sr. 15-10 6-7 6th Quarterfinal 13th NCAA Regional Second Round
1995 John Kreis 17-9 7-6 6th Quarterfinal 16th NCAA Regional Second Round
1996 John Kreis 11-11 5-8 8th Quarterfinal 26th NCAA First Round
1997 John Kreis 5-17 0-12 12th First Round 59th NCAA First Round
1998 Michael Fancutt 14-7 6-5 5th Quarterfinal 19th NCAA Second Round
1999 Michael Fancutt 18-10 6-5 5th Quarterfinal 13th NCAA Second Round
2000 Michael Fancutt 23-6 10-1 Champions Semifinal 3rd NCAA Semifinal
2001 Michael Fancutt 23-6 9-2 2nd Final 2nd NCAA Runner-up
2002 Michael Fancutt 22-7 7-4 T-2nd (East) Champions 6th NCAA Semifinal
2003 Michael Fancutt 9-12 2-9 6th (East) First Round 55th
2004 Michael Fancutt 14-9 6-5 4th (East) First Round 21st NCAA Second Round
2005 Chris Mahony 16-9 6-5 T-3rd (East) Final 11th NCAA Round of 16
2006 Chris Mahony 9-11 3-8 5th (East) First Round 50th
2007 Sam Winterbotham 17-8 7-4 T-2nd (East) Second Round 25th NCAA Second Round
2008 Sam Winterbotham 23-4 9-2 T-2nd (East) Semifinal 9th NCAA Round of 16
2009 Sam Winterbotham 23-7 8-3 2nd (East) Final 8th NCAA Round of 16
2010 Sam Winterbotham 31-2 11-0 Champions Champions 2nd NCAA Runner-up
2011 Sam Winterbotham 24-5 10-1 Champions Semifinal 4th NCAA Quarterfinal
2012 Sam Winterbotham 15-14 5-6 4th (East) Quarterfinal 20th NCAA Second Round
2013 Sam Winterbotham 26-9 8-4 2nd (East) Final 6th NCAA Quarterfinal
2014 Sam Winterbotham 19-11 6-6 6th Second Round 18th NCAA Round of 16
2015 Sam Winterbotham 14-13 5-7 8th Quarterfinal 43rd NCAA First Round
2016 Sam Winterbotham 12-17 0-12 13th Second Round
2017 Sam Winterbotham 13-14 3-9 8th Quarterfinal 43rd
2018 Chris Woodruff 21-9 8-4 4th Semifinal 20th NCAA Second Round
2019 Chris Woodruff 22-8 8-4 4th Final 13th NCAA Round of 16
2020 Chris Woodruff 14-2 2-1 12th Postseason not held (COVID-19)
2021 Chris Woodruff 28-4 10-2 2nd Champions 4th NCAA Semifinal
2022 Chris Woodruff 26-8 8-4 5th Semifinal 6th NCAA Semifinal
2023 Chris Woodruff 23-8 10-2 2nd Semifinal 9th NCAA Round of 16
Total 1255-615-5 555-370-2 9 4 31 NCAA Appearances

NCAA Tournament Results

In the NCAA Tournament, Tennessee holds a 56-31 record overall, including a 27-1 record when hosting the first two rounds in Knoxville. Overall they boast a 34-9 record in first and second round matches. From the Round of 16, on they hold a 21-22 record.[8]

Year Seed Round Opponent Result
1979 Round of 16 California L 8-1
1980 Round of 16 Trinity (TX) L 5-4
1987 #5 Round of 16
Quarterfinal
Semifinal
#12 South Carolina
#4 Long Beach St.
#1 UCLA
W 5-3
W 5-3
L 5-2
1988 #13 First Round
Round of 16
TCU
#4 Pepperdine
W 5-2
L 5-1
1989 #13 First Round Oklahoma State L 5-4
1990 #1 Round of 16
Quarterfinal
Semifinal
Championship
#16 UC-Irvine
#9 Miami (FL)
#4 UCLA
#2 Stanford
W 5-2
W 5-2
W 5-4
L 5-2
1991 #11 Round of 16 #6 Florida L 5-2
1993 #11 Round of 16 #6 Texas L 5-1
1994 Regional QF
Regional SF
Kentucky
Miami (FL)
W 4-1
L 4-2
1995 Regional QF
Regional SF
Auburn
Kentucky
W 4-2
L 4-2
1996 First Round UAB L 4-0
1997 First Round #11 Florida L 5-0
1998 First Round
Second Round
South Florida
#12 Auburn
W 4-1
L 4-3
1999 #11 First Round
Second Round
Tennessee Tech
Mississippi State
W 4-0
L 4-3
2000 #10 First Round
Second Round
Round of 16
Quarterfinal
Semifinal
Chattanooga
North Carolina
#7 Texas A&M
#2 UCLA
VCU
W 4-0
W 4-2
W 4-3
W 4-1
L 4-3
2001 #8 First Round
Second Round
Round of 16
Quarterfinal
Semifinal
Championship
UMBC
Ohio State
South Alabama
#1 Stanford
#5 TCU
#3 Georgia
W 4-0
W 4-1
W 4-0
W 4-2
W 4-0
L 4-1
2002 #2 First Round
Second Round
Round of 16
Quarterfinal
Semifinal
Wake Forest
Virginia Tech
#15 Texas
#7 Kentucky
#11 USC
W 4-0
W 4-0
W 4-0
W 4-1
L 4-3
2004 #15 First Round
Second Round
Wichita State
Arkansas
W 4-1
L 4-1
2005 #10 First Round
Second Round
Round of 16
ETSU
Ohio State
#7 UCLA
W 4-0
W 4-2
L 4-1
2007 First Round
Second Round
Miami (FL)
#2 Ohio State
W 4-3
L 4-1
2008 #8 First Round
Second Round
Round of 16
Furman
Virginia Tech
#9 Baylor
W 4-0
W 4-0
L 4-1
2009 #5 First Round
Second Round
Round of 16
ETSU
Duke
#12 Texas
W 4-0
W 4-1
L 4-3
2010 #2 First Round
Second Round
Round of 16
Quarterfinal
Semifinal
Championship
Winthrop
ETSU
#15 Louisville
#7 Baylor
#11 Georgia
#5 USC
W 4-0
W 4-1
W 4-0
W 4-0
W 4-1
L 4-2
2011 #3 First Round
Second Round
Round of 16
Quarterfinal
Radford
Virginia Tech
#14 California
#6 Georgia
W 4-0
W 4-0
W 4-2
L 4-3
2012 First Round
Second Round
UNC Wilmington
#15 North Carolina
W 4-1
L 4-0
2013 #7 First Round
Second Round
Round of 16
Quarterfinal
South Carolina State
Clemson
#10 Mississippi State
#2 Virginia
W 4-0
W 4-3
W 4-2
L 4-0
2014 First Round
Second Round
Round of 16
Elon
#11 Duke
#6 UCLA
W 4-1
W 4-2
L 4-0
2015 First Round Stanford L 4-2
2018 First Round
Second Round
UNC Wilmington
#7 North Carolina
W 4-0
L 4-0
2019 #14 First Round
Second Round
Round of 16
Radford
NC State
#3 Florida
W 4-0
W 4-2
L 4-2
2021 #3 First Round
Second Round
Round of 16
Quarterfinal
Semifinal
Alabama A&M
Memphis
Arizona
#11 Georgia
#2 Baylor
W 5-0
W 4-0
W 4-3
W 4-1
L 4-2
2022 #6 First Round
Second Round
Round of 16
Quarterfinal
Semifinal
Tennessee Tech
Duke
Florida State
#3 Baylor
#7 Virginia
W 4-0
W 4-1
W 4-0
W 4-3
L 5-0
2023 #8 First Round
Second Round
Round of 16
Belmont
Wake Forest
#9 South Carolina
W 4-1
W 4-0
L 4-2
2024 #7 First Round
Second Round
Round of 16
Quarterfinal
ETSU
Memphis
#10 Florida State
#2 Texas
W 4-0
W 4-0
W 4-3
L 4-2

See also

References

  1. ^ "General Information". UTSports.com. June 14, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  2. ^ "Vols Fall to USC, 4-2, in NCAA Championships". University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  3. ^ "Tennessee fires men's tennis coach Sam Winterbotham". Knoxnews.com.
  4. ^ "Chris Woodruff promoted to head men's tennis coach at Tennessee". Timesfreepress.com.
  5. ^ "2021-22 Men's Tennis Schedule". Utsports.com.
  6. ^ "2022-23 Men's Tennis Schedule". University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved 2023-05-14.
  7. ^ a b "All Time Record Book 2021-22" (PDF). S3.amazonaws.com. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  8. ^ "Men's Tennis Record Book" (PDF). utsports.com. 2022–23. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 17, 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2023.