University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
#62 ETSU
Vols Shut Out ETSU in Season Opener
January 23, 2010 | Men's Tennis
Jan. 23, 2010
The Tennessee Volunteers started off the season with a shutout once again, defeating East Tennessee State 7-0 on Saturday at Goodfriend Tennis Center.
The Vols, ranked fifth nationally, also won against ETSU to open the 2009 season and improved to 23-0 all-time in the series.
Junior John-Patrick Smith picked up a 6-0, 6-1 victory over No. 82 Grega Teraz in No. 1 singles. Smith, ranked second nationally, improved his record to 19-4 this season and 10-2 against ranked opponents.
Coming off his SEC Indoors championship earlier this week, junior Boris Conkic won his seventh-consecutive match 6-1, 6-3 over No. 89 Charles Bottoni at the No. 2 spot. Conkic entered January just 6-4 in singles but has now improved his record to 13-4.
Freshman Rhyne Williams wrapped up his match first with a 6-1, 6-3 win against No. 51 Jesus Bandres.
Junior Matteo Fago won 6-3, 6-1 at the No. 5 position against Robin Akser. Senior Davey Sandgren cleaned up at No. 6, earning a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Jeremy Bonnevalle.
Freshman Tennys Sandgren played the marathon match of the early afternoon. He rallied back after losing the first set 6-7 to Sander Gille at the No. 4 position.
Sandgren won the second set 6-2 to push the game to a tiebreaker. He faced match point at 11-10 before coming back to win it 13-11. By then, all the other singles matches had ended.
In doubles, it was business as usual for the Vols. Smith and Davey Sandgren, ranked seventh, picked up their 53rd career win as a doubles pairing, good for fourth all time. They beat Teraz and Bottoni to improve their season record to 14-3.
Conkic and Williams, ranked 12th, picked up their second win against a ranked opponent this year, downing Bandres and Gille 8-5. Redshirt freshman Max Stevens and freshman Edward Jones won their No. 3 doubles match 8-4 against Akser and Bonnevalle.
The Vols play Chattanooga later today beginning at 4:15 p.m.
#5 Tennessee 7, #62 East Tennessee State 0
Singles competition
1. #2 John-Patrick Smith (UT) def. #82 Grega Teraz (ETSU) 6-0, 6-1
2. #68 Boris Conkic (UT) def. #89 Charles Bottoni (ETSU) 6-1, 6-3
3. #22 Rhyne Williams (UT) def. #51 Jesus Bandres (ETSU) 6-1, 6-3
4. Tennys Sandgren (UT) def. Sander Gille (ETSU) 6-7 (4-7), 6-2, 1-0 (13-11)
5. Matteo Fago (UT) def. Robin Akser (ETSU) 6-3, 6-1
6. Davey Sandgren (UT) def. Jeremy Bonnevalle (ETSU) 6-4, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. #7 John-Patrick Smith/Davey Sandgren (UT) def. Grega Teraz/Charles Bottoni (ETSU) 8-5
2. #12 Rhyne Williams/Boris Conkic (UT) def. #52 Jesus Bandres/Sander Gille (ETSU) 8-3
3. Max Stevens/Edward Jones (UT) def. Robin Akser/Jeremy Bonnevalle (ETSU) 8-4
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (3,1,2,5,6,4)
Players Mentioned
