M TENNIS CENTRAL: Tenn. Tech/EKU

Jan. 15, 2014

VOLS vs. TENNESSEE TECH/EKU

Saturday, Jan. 18 | 10 a.m. & 2 p.m. ET

Goodfriend Tennis Center | Knoxville

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NOTE THIS

EXPERIMENTAL RULES: College tennis teams across the country will be playing with an experimental scoring system in January and February. As always, teams will be vying for four team points, but the match scoring will be a little different. The three doubles matches to start the contest will be played as six-game sets, instead of eight-game sets. Matches will feature no-ad scoring and a tiebreaker if it is tied at 5-5. The team that wins two of the three doubles matches wins one team point. Six singles matches will then be played, each worth one team point. Matches will be best-of-three sets with no-ad scoring. Rules will return to NCAA format after the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in February.

PARKING: Where should you leave your car when driving to Goodfriend Tennis Center? Lot S-37 around the Shelbourne Towers (across the street from the tennis center) will be available. Fans can also park in lot N-2 (the old tennis courts along Volunteer Boulevard). Goodfriend Tennis Center can be accessed through the main doors located in the parking lot of the Andy Holt Apartments, or the elevator entrance near the outdoor courts of Barksdale Stadium.

THE SEASON BEGINS

Welcome to 2014

The Vols are starting 2014 just like they ended last season: ranked sixth nationally
The top four singles starters are returning for Tennessee: Mikelis Libietis, Hunter Reese, Jarryd Chaplin and Brandon Fickey.
Sam Winterbotham is in his eighth year as head coach at Tennessee. In that time He and associate head coach Chris Woodruff have compiled a 159-49 record.
The Vols have two ranked singles players and two ranked doubles teams based on fall results. In singles, Hunter Reese is ranked 16th and Mikelis Libietis is 34th. In doubles, Libietis and Reese retained their hold on the No. 1 ranking. Jarryd Chaplin and Brandon Fickey are ranked for the first time at No. 28.

In Season Openers

This is the second consecutive season the Vols open the schedule against Tennessee Tech. That meeting resulted in a 4-0 victory for the Vols.
Tennessee has faced Eastern Kentucky the last two seasons. The Vols were 2-0 in those matches, including a 4-0 win last year on Jan. 21.
In Winterbotham's seven-year tenure, the Vols are 88-13 at home, including 14-1 last year. They are 6-1 in season openers during that time.
The Vols went 9-0 in January last year.

And on Monday

Tennessee is back in action for the Monday holiday, hosting East Tennessee State at 10 a.m. and Murray State at 2 p.m. at Goodfriend Tennis Center
Murray State is coached by former Vol and 1980 NCAA doubles champ Mel Purcell
This will be the first meeting between the Vols and ETSU since 2011.
All holiday weekend, many players might look familiar to fans to came to UT for the USTA/ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships back in October. All four opponents are in the Ohio Valley Region and sent players to the tournament

Sawicki's Turn

After a year of waiting, Poland native Bartosz Sawicki will be eligible to play for the Vols this weekend
Sawicki will be a welcome addition to the roster. Prior to arriving at Tennessee, he was ranked as high as No. 811 on the ATP tour in doubles and won an ITF Futures doubles title in 2010. He also earned ATP points in singles.
As a junior, he was ranked as high as No. 59 in the ITF world junior rankings. He won six ITF junior circuit doubles titles

Last Year ... What Happened?

The Vols finished the season 26-9 overall and ended the year ranked sixth nationally
The team reached the NCAA quarterfinals, the third time in four years the Vols have reached at least the quarterfinals
They finished second in the SEC during the regular season and played their way into the conference title match
In Winterbotham's seven years at UT, the Vols have been end-year top-10 five times

QUICK! Fall Highlights

Mikelis Libietis and Hunter Reese made good on their No. 1 doubles ranking, battling illness to win the ITA All-American Championships. They also reached the final of the USTA/ITA National Indoors.
Reese became Tennessee's first USTA/ITA Ohio Valley Region champion. He had 12 wins during the fall, two against top-10 players.
Jarryd Chaplin and Brandon Fickey won their first doubles title together, doing so on a big stage. They won the USTA Clay Court Invitational in Orlando
Three freshman -- Markus Kerner, Sean Karl and Sunay Bhat -- played their first career matches.

ICYMI: Awards from May 2013

In a rare same-team decision by a national panel of coaches, both Winterbotham and Woodruff were both awarded college tennis' highest coaching honors. Winterbotham was named the ITA National Coach of the Year, and Woodruff was the ITA National Assistant Coach of the Year.
Mikelis Libietis was named the ITA National Player to Watch, in addition to his SEC Player of the Year nod
The All-Americans: Mikelis Libietis and Hunter Reese

University of Tennessee Athletics

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