University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Eastern Kentucky
Vols Split Doubleheader with 6-1 Win
January 20, 2012 | Men's Tennis
Head coach Sam Winterbotham says learning and improvement is key to every match for the young Vols squad.
Some lessons in the first match quickly carried over for the second in the doubleheader as four freshmen made their dual match debuts.
The 13th-ranked Vols took a 4-3 loss to Memphis early but rebounded two hours later to beat Eastern Kentucky in a long 6-1 evening match.
"We're disappointed with a couple of performances," Tennessee head coach Sam Winterbotham said. "Our guys want to win. We know that. The first match of the year is always an interesting one for freshmen. It is what it is. We're young. We have to become mature quickly.
"It's a very disappointing loss for our program. We don't like losing, but I thought we rebounded well against Eastern Kentucky. They're a good team that wins. We got better today."
Like the match against Memphis, the Vols won the doubles point. This time, however, the Vols started out with the momentum across the board in singles play. Tennessee took five of six first sets in singles with a lineup that featured three freshmen on the top three courts.
Junior Taylor Patrick, who did not play against Memphis, cruised to a 6-1, 6-1 win on court 5 against Joao Maio to give the Vols a 2-0 lead. Freshman Brandon Fickey was next off the court, getting his second win on court 2 of the afternoon, beating Hugo Klientovsky 6-3, 6-3.
Junior Edward Jones clinched the match, beating Parul Verma 6-3, 6-3 on court 4. It was his 48th career singles win.
After the match was decided, freshman Mikelis Libietis battled for a 6-3, 5-7, [10-3] win on the top court. Senior Bryan Swartzalso collected a win in his one match of the day, beating Carles Pons 7-5, 6-2 to improve to 11-2 on court 6.
Hunter Reese was the last man on the court against Memphis and lost the deciding point in the third-set tiebreaker, and against Eastern Kentucky, Reese found himself again the last player on court for Tennessee. He rebounded from a first set loss but eventually fell 6-4, 2-6, [10-7] to Philip Janz.
While playing on the top two courts, Libietis and Fickey held their own in their first dual matches. Libietis won not only both his singles matches -- collecting his first ranked win in the process -- but he got two doubles wins on court 1 with Reese as well. Fickey played on court 2 both matches.
Tennessee returns to action Sunday with a home match against No. 15 Georgia Tech at 1 p.m. Admission is free. Live video streaming will be available at utsports.com/allaccess
Tennessee 6, Eastern Kentucky 1
Singles
1. Mikelis Libietis (UT) def. SCHROEDER, Niklas (EKU) 6-3, 5-7, 1-0 (10-3)
2. Brandon Fickey (UT) def. KLIENTOVSKY, Hugo (EKU) 6-3, 6-3
3. JANZ, Philip (EKU) def. Hunter Reese (UT) 6-4, 2-6, 1-0 (10-7)
4. Edward Jones (UT) def. VERMA, Parul (EKU) 6-3, 6-3
5. Taylor Patrick (UT) def. MAIO, Joao (EKU) 6-1, 6-1
6. Bryan Swartz (UT) def. PONS, Carles (EKU) 7-5, 6-2
Doubles
1. Mikelis Libietis/Hunter Reese (UT) def. KLIENTOVSKY, Hugo/SCHROEDER, Niklas (EKU) 8-6
2. Brandon Fickey/Edward Jones (UT) def. PONS, Carles/JANZ, Philip (EKU) 8-4
3. Peter Nagovnak/Jarryd Chaplin (UT) def. MAIO, Joao/VERMA, Parul (EKU) 9-7
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (5,2,4,1,6,3)
Players Mentioned
