University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
NCAA Championships (Singles & Doubles)
Vols' Season Ends with Doubles Loss
May 24, 2012 | Men's Tennis
May 24, 2012
ATHENS, Ga. -- A mid-match slide proved costly for Tennessee freshmen Mikelis Libietis and Hunter Reese in their first-round match Thursday at the NCAA Doubles Championships.
Up a break early in the first set, the Libietis and Reese dropped seven games in a row in a 6-4, 6-4 loss to Texas Tech's Raony Carvahlo and Gonzalo Escobar at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.
Libietis and Reese, ranked 12th nationally, end the season with a 23-12 record.
The loss ends Tennessee's four-year streak of having finalists in either NCAA singles or doubles. Rhyne Williams lost in three sets to Southern California's Steve Johnson in the finals last season after beating teammate Tennys Sandgren in the semifinals.
The match started out well for the Vols' freshman duo. Libietis and Reese came out swinging, breaking Texas Tech at 2-1 and Libietis serving the Vols quickly to a 4-1 lead. The Vols had chances to extend the lead further on Carvalho's serve when momentum shifted in a hurry.
Reese double faulted twice to start his next service game and was broken to put the match back on serve at 4-3. The Texas Tech seniors won the next three games to take the set 6-4.
Carvalho and Escobar broke Libietis' opening service game of the second set and went up 2-0. That was all the lead they needed as the Vols were not able to manufacture another break point opportunity.
The loss officially marks the end of the 2012 Tennessee tennis season. The Vols finished 15-14 in team play with three freshmen playing at the top of the lineup, including Libietis and Reese on courts 1 and 2 respectively. Both were named All-SEC.
