University of Tennessee Athletics
Notebook: Vols Face Duke Again
February 20, 2011 | Men's Tennis
Feb. 20, 2011
SEATTLE -- Let's put it this way: the series between Tennessee and Duke is hardly ancient history.
The third-ranked Vols and Duke square off Sunday at noon Pacific (3 p.m. Eastern) in the semifinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships at the Nordstrom Tennis Center, a little more than a week after meeting for a non-conference match in Durham, N.C.
Tennessee shut out Duke 7-0 on the road Feb. 12, but Sunday's meeting features slightly different lineups and obviously, a different venue. In the first matchup, senior John-Patrick Smith played No. 1 for the Vols, followed by sophomore Rhyne Williams at the No. 2 position. For this tournament, Williams is playing at the top of the UT lineup.
Both teams' doubles lineups have been the same for the tournament.
For a look at the box score from the meeting in Durham, N.C.:
Singles
1. John-Patrick Smith (UT) def. Henrique Cunha (DUKE), 7-5, 6-7 (6), 1-0 (8)
2. Rhyne Williams (UT) def. Reid Carleton (DUKE), 7-6 (5), 6-7 (4), 1-0 (6)
3. Tennys Sandgren (UT) def. Chris Mengel (DUKE), 6-4, 6-7 (6), 1-0 (8)
4. Matteo Fago (UT) def. Fred Saba (DUKE), 6-4, 6-3
5. Boris Conkic (UT) def. Jared Pinsky (DUKE), 6-4, 6-4
6. Edward Jones (UT) def. Luke Marchese (DUKE), 7-5, 2-6, 6-3
Doubles
1. John-Patrick Smith/Boris Conkic (UT) def. Reid Carleton/Henrique Cunha (DUKE), 8-4
2. Tennys Sandgren/Rhyne Williams (UT) def. Jared Pinsky/Fred Saba (DUKE), 7-6
3. Matteo Fago/Edward Jones (UT) def. David Holland/Chris Mengel (DUKE), 8-3
Order of Finish: Singles (4,5,6,2,3,1); Doubles (3,1,2).
One-Two Punch
Much like the Vols have the current and former top-ranked players at the top of their lineup in Williams and Smith, Duke has two top-10 players in No. 10 Henrique Cunha and No. 6 Reid Carleton, who play on courts 1 and 2 for the Blue Devils.
Cunha and Carleton also form one of the highest-ranking doubles pairings in the country. The two were the ITA Doubles Team of the Year last season and are currently ranked ninth.
Smith and fellow senior Boris Conkic have played at the top of the Vols' lineup this spring and are already ranked eighth nationally, one of their top wins coming against Cunha and Carleton. They have an 11-1 record this spring.
How We Got Here (And Other Big-Picture Questions)
The Vols (8-0) are back in the National Indoors semifinals for the third consecutive season, doing so with a short-staffed lineup. Sophomore Tennys Sandgren has been out of action with illness for most of the tournament, but the Vols have still strung together two hard-fought victories in the opening rounds.
Tennessee beat SEC opponent Georgia 4-2 to open the tournament behind wins by seniors Conkic, Smith and Fago. Playing in the top half of the lineup for the first time since his sophomore year, Fago clinched the victory with a third-set tiebreaker over 31st-ranked Sadio Doumbia on court 3.
The Vols faced UCLA in the quarterfinals for the second year in a row and again, Tennessee came away the winner. After securing the doubles point, the Vols took the first set on four of six courts on their way to a 4-1 victory.
Duke (8-2) scored the upset of the first round when -- as a 15 seed -- the Blue Devils beat second-seeded Southern California 4-3. In the quarterfinals, they bested Florida 4-1.
Streaks Alive
Conkic, who did not finish his match Saturday, leads the Vols with a 10-match winning streak and is one of three Vols to have an undefeated mark in dual matches. His career-best winning streak is 12 matches.
Smith has an eight-match winning streak and is 14-1 this spring with nine wins against ranked opponents. Sandgren, who has jumped up 46th in the national rankings, has won six in a row.
The Doubles Point
Doubles has been a strong suit for Tennessee lately. The Vols have won the doubles point to start a match 21 consecutive times dating back to last season. In 2010, they clinched the doubles point in 32 of 33 matches, the only loss coming against Mississippi State, a match the Vols eventually won 5-2.
This season, the Vols are a combined 19-1 in the doubles portion of dual matches with four unfinished contests. At the top of the lineup, eighth-ranked Conkic and Smith are 7-0 in dual matches with three wins against top-15 teams. They picked up their third with a 9-8 (2) win over Georgia's Javier Garrapiz and Hernus Pieters, ranked 12th nationally.
Sandgren and Williams, a new pairing this spring, are 6-1 at the No. 2 position. Freshman Jarryd Chaplin stepped into Sandgren's place Saturday to help the Vols clinch the doubles point against UCLA.
At the No. 3 position, Fago and Jones have a 10-match winning streak and are 19-4 in dual matches together the last two seasons.
Two on the All-Time List
With the doubles win Saturday with Conkic, Smith moved into a tie for second on the Vols' career doubles wins list with Shelby Cannon, who won 128 doubles matches from 1985-88.
Smith is only three wins from tying Byron Talbot (1985-88) for the career record.
Smith has played all but three of his career dual matches at the No. 1 doubles position and is a two-time finalist at the NCAA Doubles Championships with Davey Sandgren. Forty-six of Smith's 128 doubles victories have come against ranked opponents.
100x2
Statistically speaking, Conkic has the opportunity to reach two rare career milestones against Duke on Sunday. He enters the match with 99 wins in both singles and doubles. A victory in both categories would make him the fourth Vol to reach the century mark in both categories, joining Smith, Talbot and Cannon.
Only seven Vols have reached 100 career singles wins and four have reached that marker in doubles.
Conkic, a three-time All-SEC, has a 99-29 career singles record and is also 99-21 in doubles.
Players Mentioned
