Michigan
Tennessee
Michigan Upsets No. 14 Tennessee to Advance to ITA Indoor Nationals
1/26/2025 5:59:00 PM | Men's Tennis
Site: Knoxville, Tenn. (Goodfriend Tennis Center)
Event: ITA Kick-Off (Day 2 of 2)
Score: #25 Michigan 4, #14 Tennessee 1
Records: U-M (3-0), Tennessee (4-2)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Jan. 31 -- vs. NC State (Varsity Tennis Center), 5 p.m.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The No. 25-ranked University of Michigan men's tennis team upset the host team, No. 14 Tennessee, 4-1 on Sunday afternoon (Jan. 26) to win the ITA Kick-Off and advance to the ITA Indoor National Championships.
Nicholas Steiglehner delivered the win for the Wolverines at No. 5 singles in a third-set tiebreaker against No. 56 Alejandro Moreno. Going down 2-0, Steiglehner won the next seven straight to take the third set 7-6 (7-2).
Michigan has won the ITA Kick-Off the last three seasons and has now won five times (2009, 2020, 2023, 2024 and 2025). The ITA National Team Indoor Championships will be held Feb. 14-18 in Waco and Dallas,Texas.
Michigan's strong doubles game gave the Wolverines a 1-0 lead. Alex Cairo and Will Cooksey continue to impress, improving to 8-1 after a 6-2 win at No. 3. Patorn Hanchaikul and Benjamin Kittay remain unbeaten at 3-0 after a winning 6-4 at No. 2. Gavin Young and Bjorn Swenson led 5-3 at No. 1 but did not need to finish the match.
With Young out of the singles lineup, the pressure was on the Wolverines and each stepped up playing up a level.
It started with Kittay, playing at No. 1 singles and the junior transfer earned his first ranked win of the season with 6-3, 6-4 victories over No. 34 Alex Kotzen.
The Vols got on the board with a straight set win at No. 2 singles with No. 18 ranked Shunsuke Mitsui defeating Swenson to make it 2-1 on the team scoreboard.
Cooksey forced a third set at No. 3 singles after splitting the first two with Jose Garcia by matching 6-4 scores. He started off with a break and did not look back en route to a 6-2 decision to put Michigan on top 3-1.
With Michigan needing just one more point, Cairo forced a third set at No. 6 as did Hanchaikul at No. 4 with Steiglehner holding a 5-2 edge in his third set. Moreno went on a run 4-1 to force a tiebreak game and won the last three points to win 7-6 (5) to put the win at bay for the Wolverines as he and Steiglehner headed to the decisive third set and ultimately the win for the Maize & Blue.
Michigan returns home to host two matches at the Varsity Tennis Center next weekend --Â first against No. 22 NC State on Friday (Jan. 31) at 5 p.m., followed by No. 23 Harvard on Sunday (Feb. 2) at noon. Admission is free.
Following are match-by-match results
Singles
No. 1 -- Benjamin Kittay (U-M) d. No. 34 Alex Kotzen (Tennessee), 6-3, 6-4
No. 2 -- No. 18 Shunsuke Mitsui (Tennessee) d. Bjorn Swenson (U-M), 7-5, 6-0
No. 3 -- Will Cooksey (U-M) d. Jose Garcia (Tennessee), 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
No. 4 -- No. 113 Patorn Hanchaikul (U-M) vs. Jan Kobierski (Tennessee), 6-7 (6), 6-4, 1-1 abandoned
No. 5 -- Nicholas Steiglehner (U-M) d. No. 56 Alejandro Moreno (Tennessee), 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (2)
No. 6 -- Alex Cairo (U-M) vs. James Newton (UT) 6-7 (6-8), 7-6 (7-5), 2-4 unf.
Doubles
No. 1 -- Gavin Young/Bjorn Swenson (U-M) vs. Alex Kotzen/Shunsuke Mitsui (Tennessee), 5-3Â abandoned
No. 2 -- Benjamin Kittay/Patorn Hanchaikul (U-M) d. Alan Jesudason/Jan Kobierski (Tennessee), 6-4
No. 3 -- Will Cooksey/Alex Cairo (U-M) d. Alejandro Moreno/James Newton (Tennessee), 6-2
Order of Completion: Doubles 3-2, Singles 1-2-3-5
Players Mentioned
