University of Tennessee Athletics
Vols Draw LSU in SEC Tournament Quarterfinals
April 22, 2010 | Men's Tennis
April 22, 2010
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The top-seeded Tennessee Volunteers open SEC Tournament play Friday against LSU.
The Vols (23-1), one of four teams to receive a bye to the quarterfinals, had to wait all day Thursday to find out who they'd be playing. LSU (8-13) held off Alabama for a 4-2 victory in the first-round evening match at Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex.
Tennessee is scheduled to square off against LSU on Friday at 6 p.m. A live interactive blog and live scoring will be available at UTSports.com.
What Happened Last Time?
The Vols swept LSU 7-0 for their eighth shutout of the season March 21 in Knoxville. Here's the box score from the first meeting:
Singles
1. John-Patrick Smith (UT) def. Neal Skupski (LSU) 6-1, 6-3
2. Boris Conkic (UT) def. Sebastian Carlsson (LSU) 6-3, 6-3
3. Rhyne Williams (UT) def. Stefan Szacinski (LSU) 6-3, 6-1
4. Tennys Sandgren (UT) def. Mark Bowtell (LSU) 6-2, 7-5
5. Matt Brewer (UT) def. Julien Gauthier (LSU) 6-4, 6-3
6. Matteo Fago (UT) def. James Turbervill (LSU) 6-2, 6-3
Doubles
1. John-Patrick Smith/Davey Sandgren (UT) def. Roger Anderson/Neal Skupski (LSU) 8-2
2. Boris Conkic/Rhyne Williams (UT) def. Sebastian Carlsson/Mark Bowtell (LSU) 8-2
3. Matteo Fago/Edward Jones (UT) def. Olivier Borsos/Stefan Szacinski (LSU) 8-4
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (1,3,5,2,6,4)
What's New for LSU?
Almost everything is different this time around. LSU, ranked No. 48 by the ITA, has extensively rearranged its lineup since playing the Vols. John-Patrick Smith is the only one with a probable rematch at the No. 1 position; he defeated Skupski 6-1, 6-3 last month.
In addition, all three of the Tigers' doubles pairings are different.
Here is the lineup LSU used Thursday in its victory against Alabama:
Singles
1. No. 52 Neal Skupski
2. Mark Bowtell
3. No. 121 Sebastian Carlsson
4. Julien Gauthier
5. Stefan Szacinski
6. Cody Loup
Doubles
1. No. 55 Skupski/Carlsson
2. Szacinski/Anderson
3. Bowtell/Gauthier
Better Every Year
Since Sam Winterbotham joined the Tennessee program as head coach four seasons ago, the Vols have steadily improved their finish in the SEC Tournament each season. They made it to the quarterfinals in 2007 and the semifinals in 2008.
Last season, they reached the championship before losing 4-2 to top-seeded Mississippi.
Tennessee has won two SEC Tournament Championships in the last 20 years: 1990 and 2002.
On the Line
Freshman Tennys Sandgren enters the SEC Tournament with the longest active winning streak at 11 matches. Fellow freshman Rhyne Williams is not far behind with 10 consecutive victories.
On courts 3 and 4, Sandgren and Williams have not disappointed this season. They finished a combined 20-1 in SEC dual matches.
The longest winning streak for a Vol this season is 12 matches. Both Smith and Boris Conkic did so earlier this season.
The Perfect Family
There's no doubt about it. The Sandgrens are a perfect family.
Davey and Tennys Sandgren ended SEC play with a 15-0 singles record. Tennys, who joined the Vols in January, had a 10-0 record at the fourth singles position.
Davey rejoined Tennessee's singles lineup three weeks ago and has been an undefeated 5-0 since. He now has 83 singles wins, good for 13th on the school career list.
Players Mentioned
