The ITA Rookie of the Year award honors a first-year student-athlete who made significant contributions to his/her team in the areas of leadership, sportsmanship, and performance.
Johannus Monday was named a top-eight national seed in the NCAA Singles Championship. He earned a crucial straight-set victory over Georgia's Tyler Zink (7-6(3), 6-4) to help push Tennessee past No. 11 Georgia, 4-1, and into the NCAA Semifinals. Johannus helped lead UT to its first SEC Title of any kind since 2010 with two dominant straight-set victories over South Carolina's Connor Thomson (6-0, 6-1) and Florida's Sam Riffice (6-4, 6-4). He finished the regular season with an incredible 13 victories over ranked opponents and a 31-6 singles record in his first campaign on Rocky Top & earned a 6-4, 7-6 win at No. 1 over Alex Reko in Tennessee's match vs. Arkansas.
Johannus is a five-time defending SEC Freshman of the week is 10-3 in both doubles and singles play during dual season.
A letter from Tennessee Men's Tennis Head Coach, Chris Woodruff
I would just like to congratulate Johannus on his extraordinary achievement and all of his accomplishments this season. He has worked so incredibly hard and was an immediate asset to our team from the start of the season, through its conclusion.
As a coach, I always try to be mindful of the fact that I’m not the easiest coach to play for and that I’m not always the most forgiving, but Johannus has stuck through, persevered, and been a rock for us all season long. Coming across the ocean, being far away from home, and having to adjust to a new life, in a new country, with new people is never easy and I am incredibly proud of him and thankful that he chose to make Tennessee his home for the next four years.
While the season didn’t end how we wanted it to, it was a season filled with success—success that he was an incredibly large part of.
Again, I just want to say that I’m incredibly proud of Johannus and I know that this is just the beginning for him.