University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Elon Invitational
Sandgren, Jones Capture First Titles at Elon
October 10, 2010 | Men's Tennis
Oct. 10, 2010
Tennessee sophomore Tennys Sandgren won the top-flight singles title and also teamed up with fellow sophomore Edward Jones to capture the doubles championship Sunday at the Elon Invitational in Elon, N.C.
Sandgren won all four of his matches in straight sets at Elon, defeating Campbell's Davy Sum 6-2, 6-3 in the championship to earn his first collegiate singles title.
"Winning a tournament, any tournament, is not easy," Tennessee head Sam Winterbotham said. "It's hard to get on a run, so I was really proud of Tennys being able to work himself through a draw like he did this weekend. We just saw him get better and better as the week went on. He handled himself well in the matches."
Sandgren and Jones also won their first career doubles titles Sunday. They took an early lead and pulled away against UNC-Wilmington's Kosta Blank and Illia Ziamstou 8-2 in the final.
Jones, who was a fixture at No. 3 doubles last season with senior Matteo Fago, improved his career record to 26-13.
"Ed and Tennys played a great final," Winterbotham said. "They were ready. They were sharp. They didn't need much coaching today because they went out there and were really putting into practice what we've been working on."
The Vols have won three individual titles this fall. Sophomore Taylor Patrick went on a six-match run to take the Division III singles trophy at the Southern Intercollegiate Championships to start the season.
Freshman Colton Norton certainly ended the Elon Invitational on a high note as well. The walk-on from Jackson entered the tournament in search of his first collegiate victory. He dropped his opening match in the C draw Friday, but he finally picked up that first win Saturday against Presbyterian's Ed Snead.
On Sunday, he easily beat UNC-Greensboro's Jimmy Rouche 6-0, 6-1 to win the backdraw of the C flight.
Winterbotham said his team accomplished its goals during the weekend tournament.
"It's good to take guys to a different tournament in a different part of the country to face new competition," Winterbotham said. "At Campbell, they've got guys who win a lot of matches. Same for Elon and the other schools. They're all playing as hard as they can to win. It's great for our team to understand that and be respectful of all competition.
"Bryan (Swartz) and Ed both had three-hour matches on the first day. It was a real gut-check for them, and it was good to see them both pull out wins."
The Vols have the weekend off but return to action Oct. 21 for the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships in Lexington, Ky. Last season, Rhyne Williams and Boris Conkic teamed up to win the doubles title against teammates John-Patrick Smith and Davey Sandgren.
Elon Invitational
Sunday's Results
Main Draw Singles
A1 Draw
Final
Tennys Sandgren, UT, def. Davy Sum, Campbell, 6-2, 6-3
Consolation Singles
A1 Draw
Final
Nick Sayer, Radford, def. Taylor Patrick, UT, 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 (4)
C1 Draw
Final
Colton Norton, UT, def. Jimmy Rouche, UNC-Greensboro, 6-0, 6-1
Main Draw Doubles
A1 Draw
Final
Edward Jones/Tennys Sandgren, UT, def. Kosta Blank/Illia Ziamstou, UNC-Wilmington, 8-2
B2 Draw
Final
Ondrej Kralik/David Clavera, Campbell, def. Taylor Patrick/Colton Norton, UT, 8-5
Consolation Doubles
A2 Draw
Chanon Varapongsittikul/Ahmet Sarioglu, UNC-Greensboro, def. Max Stevens/Bryan Swartz, UT, 8-2
