University of Tennessee Athletics
Libietis Earns SEC Honors Again
March 07, 2012 | Men's Tennis
March 7, 2012
Mikelis Libietis was named SEC freshman of the Week for the third time this year after opening the SEC season with an undefeated road trip at No. 1 singles and doubles.
Libietis, a native of Priekuli, Latvia, and fellow freshman Hunter Reese won both their singles matches and earned a pair of wins in doubles together as the Vols (8-7, 1-1 SEC) lost to Florida 4-3 but rebounded for a 5-2 win against South Carolina on Sunday.
Libietis, ranked No. 36 nationally in singles, extended his singles winning streak to four matches over the weekend. He defeated No. 51 Bob van Overbeek of Florida 6-3, 6-3 and fought off match points to rally for a 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (2) win against No. 92 Nick Jones of South Carolina.
With the wins, Libietis is now 16-5 in singles to start his career, including 8-4 in dual matches all at the No. 1 position. He was climbed to No. 36 nationally with two more ranked opponents to face this weekend when Mississippi and Mississippi State travel to Knoxville.
In doubles, Libietis and Reese won their first match against a top-10 opponent, breaking twice to beat No. 8 Nassim Slilam and Billy Federhofer of Florida 8-4. Two days later, the 17th-ranked Vols pair beat Jones and Kyle Koch of South Carolina 8-2.
The freshman pair are now 16-4 together, including 10-2 in dual matches at the No. 1 position.
With six weeks to go in the regular season, Libietis already has three SEC Freshman of the Week honors. He was named SEC Freshman of the Week a week as well after logging his first career top-40 singles wins. He also got the award on Feb. 1.
The SEC Freshman of the Week has only been an award since 2008, and Libietis is the first Vol to win the honor three times in a season. John-Patrick Smith and Rhyne Williams picked up the accolades twice during their freshman years in 2008 and 2010 respectively.
The conference record is four, set by van Overbeek of Florida in 2010 and Sebastian Carlsson of LSU in 2008.
Libietis' Results
Singles
Mikelis Libietis (UT) def. #51 Bob van Overbeek (UF), 6-3, 6-3
Mikelis Libietis (UT) def. #92 Kyle Koch (SC), 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (2)
Doubles
Libietis/Reese (UT) def. #8 Federhofer/Slilam (UF), 8-4
Libietis/Reese (UT) def. Jones/Koch (UF), 8-2
