University of Tennessee Athletics
Tennessee in Search of Repeat Sweep at SEC Indoors
January 14, 2010 | Men's Tennis
Jan. 14, 2010
Defending champions John-Patrick Smith and Davey Sandgren are in the hunt for a repeat at this weekend's SEC Coaches Indoor Championships.
Smith became the Vols' fourth SEC Indoors champion last season and earned the top seed in this year's field. Doubles champions Smith and Sandgren also secured the top seed and a first-round bye. Action begins Friday at the Racquet Club of the South in Norcross, Ga.
After a 16-3 fall season, Smith retained his national No. 2 ITA ranking in singles and has been ranked in the top 10 since March 17, 2009. He won the SEC Indoors last season with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Florida's Carlos Cueto, and he reached the semifinals as a freshman.
He received a bye into the round of 32 Friday afternoon where he will face Creighton Blanchard of Alabama or Chris Doerr of Mississippi State.
Joining Smith on the top half of the draw is freshman Tennys Sandgren, who recently joined the Vols in time for the spring schedule. He makes his UT debut against Mississippi's Jonas Luetjen. Sophomore Bryan Swartz returns to the court for the first time since early October to face LSU's Cody Loup.
Junior Boris Conkic, currently ranked No. 68, plays Kentucky's Alex Lambropoulos in the second half of the draw. Freshman Edward Jones drew Drake Bernstein of Georgia, the No. 8 seed and the 60th ranked player. Davey Sandgren faces Alex Hill of Georgia.
In Doubles
Smith and Davey Sandgren opened the 2009 spring season off to a fast start by winning four matches on their way to the championship last January. By March's ITA rankings, they had jumped from unranked to No. 9 and eventually ended the season as the top-ranked pairing in the country. They are currently 11-3 this season and are ranked seventh.
Smith and Sandgren will have to wait until Saturday's round of 16 to begin their title defense after receiving a bye.
Conkic and Tennys Sandgren received a 5-8 seeding, although Friday obviously marks their first match as a pairing. Conkic is ranked fourth with Smith and 12th with Williams and has a 14-2 combined record in doubles during the fall.
Jones and Swartz will be teaming up for the first time since the Louisville Fall Invitational in September, where they reached the finals of the first flight. They are scheduled to play Sabastian Carlsson and Julien Gautheir of LSU.
National Collegiate Tennis Classic
Rhyne Williams, Matt Brewer, Matteo Fago and Taylor Patrick also enter first-round play Friday at the annual National Collegiate Tennis Classic at La Quinta Resort and Club in Palm Springs, Calif.
Williams, currently ranked No. 22, received the second seed in the 32-man field, which features players predominately from California schools. He takes on San Diego State's Luis Rattenhuber in the first round. Williams had a 13-3 record during the fall season and reached the finals in two of his four tournament appearances.
Brewer earned his first career ranking at No. 52 and is the classic's third seed. He faces Jose Sierra of San Diego State.
In his first-round match, Fago drew Amit Inbar from UCLA, who is ranked No. 94 and qualified for the ITA Intercollegiate Indoor National Championships in November. Patrick plays San Diego's Nikola Bubnic in his first match.
SEC Coaches Indoor Championships
Friday
Singles
Round of 64
(1) John-Patrick Smith, bye
Bryan Swartz, UT, vs. Cody Loup, LSU
Tennys Sandgren, UT, vs. Jonas Luetjen, Mississippi
Davey Sandgren, UT, vs. Alex Hill, Georgia
Edward Jones, UT, vs. (8) Drake Bernstein, Georgia
Boris Conkic, UT, vs. Alex Lambropoulos, Kentucky
Round of 32
(1) John-Patrick Smith, UT, vs. Creighton Blanchard, Alabama/Chris Doerr, Mississippi State
Doubles
Round of 32
(1) Smith/D. Sandgren, bye
Jones/Swartz, UT, vs. Carlsson/Gautheir, LSU
Conkic/T. Sandgren, UT, vs. Anderson/Tubervill, LSU
National Collegiate Tennis Classic
Singles
Friday
Round of 32
(2) Rhyne Williams, UT, vs. Luis Rattenhuber, San Diego State
(3) Matt Brewer, UT, vs. Jose Sierra, San Diego State
Matteo Fago, UT, vs. Amit Inbar, UCLA
Taylor Patrick, UT, vs. Nikola Bubnic, San Diego
Doubles
Round of 16
Patrick/Williams, UT, vs. Feliz/van Endert, San Diego State
Brewer/Fago, UT, vs. Hashem/Visy, San Diego
Players Mentioned
