University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
#48 LSU
Vols Shut Out LSU Again to Advance
April 23, 2010 | Men's Tennis
April 23, 2010
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The second-ranked Tennessee Volunteers shut out LSU for the second time this season to reach the semifinals of the SEC Tournament.
The Vols quickly won the doubles point and earned first-set victories on all six courts Friday on their way to defeating LSU 4-0 at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex.
Tennessee (24-1) will face Mississippi in the semifinals Saturday at 1 p.m. Mississippi also earned a shutout Friday by upsetting host Kentucky 4-0.
After the Vols took a 1-0 lead by winning the doubles point for the 24th time this season, junior Matteo Fago was first off the court for the Vols with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Stefan Szacinski at the fifth position.
Freshman Tennys Sandgren followed suit on the next court, giving the Vols a 3-0 lead by beating Julien Gauthier 6-2, 6-4. Sandgren has won 12 consecutive matches to improve to 20-4.
Junior John-Patrick Smith, ranked No. 1 nationally, provided the final blow for the Vols. Although he started the match down 0-3, he won 12 of the next 13 games to defeat No. 52 Neal Skupski 6-3, 6-1 and clinch the shutout. Smith has 36 victories as a junior, tying his career best for wins in a season.
With the sweep of LSU, the Vols have accumulated 11 shutout victories in 2010 to break the 1965 UT season record of 10. Five of those shutouts have come against SEC teams.
In doubles, Fago and freshman Edward Jones picked up an 8-2 victory over Mark Bowtell and Julien Gauthier.
Junior Boris Conkic and freshman Rhyne Williams, ranked eighth nationally, clinched the doubles point by defeating Scazinski and Roger Anderson 8-2 on court 2. Conkic and Williams improved to 30-3 this season, joining Smith and senior Davey Sandgren as the second Volunteer team to reach the 30-win milestone. Until Friday, Tennessee had never fielded two 30-win doubles teams in the same season.
Smith and Sandgren were leading 7-4 when their match was suspended. They have a 31-6 record this season.
Singles
1. No. 1 John-Patrick Smith (UT) def. No. 52 Neal Skupski (LSU) 6-3, 6-1
2. No. 37 Boris Conkic (UT) vs. Mark Bowtell (LSU) 6-3, 5-2, DNF
3. No. 44 Rhyne Williams (UT) vs. Sebastian Carlsson (LSU) 7-5, 5-1, DNF
4. No. 114 Tennys Sandgren (UT) def. Julien Gauthier (LSU) 6-4, 6-4
5. Matteo Fago (UT) def. Stefan Szacinski (LSU) 6-2, 6-4
6. Davey Sandgren (UT) vs. Cody Loup (LSU) 7-5, 5-3, DNF
Doubles
1. No. 4 John-Patrick Smith/Davey Sandgren (UT) def. No. 55 Neal Skupski/Sebastian Carlsson (LSU) 7-4, DNF
2. No. 8 Boris Conkic/Rhyne Williams (UT) def. Roger Anderson/Stefan Scazinski (LSU) 8-2
3. Matteo Fago/Ed Jones (UT) def. Mark Bowtell/Julien Gauthier (LSU) 8-2
Order of Finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (5,4,1).
Players Mentioned
