KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Facing one of the best teams in the country, Alabama A&M (6-7, 4-1 SWAC) men's tennis fell by a 5-0 score to No. 3 Tennessee (25-3, 10-2 SEC) in NCAA Division I Tournament First Round action on Saturday, May 8.
 
The Volunteers would jump out ahead early as the tandem of Johannus Monday and Martim Prata posted a 6-0 decision over senior Gjorgji Popovski (Skopje, Macedonia) and junior Cheng Chang Yang (Koahsiung, Taiwan) at No. 2. They would then take the doubles point as juniors Panji Setiawan (South Jakarta, Indonesia) and Rodrigo Arana Rios (Playa Del Carmen, Mexico) fell 6-1 at No. 1 to No. 4 Adam Walton and Pat Harper.
 
That lead would grow as freshman Divesh Gahlot (Haryana, India) dropped a 6-0, 6-1 decision to Andrew Rogers at No. 6 singles to make it 2-0. At the top spot, Arana Rios battled No. 10 Walton before falling 6-2, 6-1 and No. 41 Martim Prata locked up the victory with a 6-1, 6-0 decision over senior Fermin Ruiz Crespo (Mollina, Spain).
 
In an oddity of timing, the No. 4 singles match was allowed to finish as the final point had already begun. In that one Luca Wiedenmann posted a 6-1, 6-0 win over sophomore Natiphat Mulada (Korat, Thailand).
 
The Bulldogs close out a historic season that included the first Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Tournament Championship and the first NCAA Division I Tournament berth in program history.
 
NO. 3 TENNESSEE 5, ALABAMA A&M 0
Doubles
1. No. 4 Adam Walton/Pat Harper (UT) def. Panji Setiawan/Rodrigo Arana Rios (AAMU) 6-1
2. Johannus Monday/Martim Prata (UT) def. Gjorgji Popovski/Cheng Chang Yang (AAMU) 6-0
3. Mark Wallner/Giles Hussey (UT) vs. Divesh Gahlot/Fermin Ruiz Crespo (AAMU) 4-1 (UF)
Order of Finish: 2, 1
 
Singles
1. No. 10 Adam Walton (UT) def. Rodrigo Arana Rios (AAMU) 6-2, 6-1
2. No. 8 Johannus Monday (UT) vs. Gjorgji Popovski (AAMU) 6-3, 4-2 (UF)
3. No. 41 Martim Prata (UT) def. Fermin Ruiz Crespo (AAMU) 6-1, 6-0
4. Luca Wiedenmann (UT) def. Natiphat Mulada (AAMU) 6-1, 6-0
5. No. 92 Giles Hussey (UT) vs. Panji Setiawan (AAMU) 6-0, 2-3 (UF)
6. Andrew Rogers (UT) def. Divesh Gahlot (AAMU) 6-0, 6-1
Order of Finish: 6, 1, 3, 4*
*Final Point at No. 4 Singles Had Already Begun

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